Convenient, safe and accessible bus service

The Tshwane metro’s bus rapid transit system offers a safe, reliable and convenient mode of daily transport to Pretoria residents.

Rekord joined city residents on an A Re Yeng experience on Friday morning on a round trip from the General M Soyothula station in Hatfield to Mahatma Gandhi station in Sunnyside via Groenkloof and back to Hatfield.

Elsie Maeko, acting director of customer information services at A Re Yeng Tshwane said the service was operational seven days a week.

“Our buses run from early morning until 21:00 on weekdays, and until midnight on weekends.

We want to show residents there is a scheduled mode of transport they can rely on throughout the week,” she said.

During peak times, a bus is available every seven to 10 minutes and every 10 to 15 minutes during off peak.

The buses are equipped with state-of-the-art monitoring equipment and are unlikely to run late.

“Each of the 30 buses we have in the fleet is equipped with a computer box that links the bus to our central communication centre.

The microphone in the bus allows the driver to communicate with passengers should there be any urgent announcements such as technical glitches,” said Maeko.

She said all the buses were environmentally friendly green buses with access to free Tshwane Wi-Fi on board and at stations.

She said: “Even Johannesburg and Cape Town’s systems do not have the free Wi-Fi. This is a way of showing that the A Re Yeng system caters for all people from the office executive to pupil and the stay-at-home mum. This is their service and they must use it.”

Zachariah Sello Hopane of the Tshwane disability directorate commended the metro for ensuring universal access to public transport for people with disabilities.

“Access into the station and into the bus are easy. Every station also has information packs on how the system works but our concern at the moment is there is no material in braille for the visually impaired. All in all, this is a system I would urge any resident to use because it is efficient, convenient, safe, accessible and everything about it is attractive,” said Hopane.

Pretoria central resident Ivan Kovacik said he rode the bus to and from Hatfield daily.

“This is an excellent service which compares with the best in the world; I hope they expand the routes as the intake from commuters grows. It is not often that one rides a bus as clean as A Re Yeng,” he said.

No eating or drinking are allowed in the buses.

The A Re Yeng system will be completed and become operational in phases.

The first phase will extend from Kopanong in Soshanguve via Rainbow Junction and the CBD to Menlyn with a branch to Hatfield and ending in Mahube Valley in Mamelodi.

The inception phase was open in 2014 and involves a trunk route of about 7km from the corner of Nana Sita and Paul Kruger streets in the city centre to Hatfield via Sunnyside, and connects to the Gautrain station in Hatfield.

The route has seven median stations; two in the CBD, three in Sunnyside, one at the Loftus Versfeld stadium, one in Hatfield and two kerbside stops. Stations are also equipped with bicycle rails as a means of promoting non-motorised transportation in the city.

To use the service, a commuter has to purchase a smart card called the connector for R25. Proof of identity by means of an ID or foreign passport are required to purchase the card and register it.

Upon registration, a commuter will get R25 free travel. Thereafter they can load travel points at kiosks inside the station, and unused points do not expire for three years.

For more information visit www.areyengtshwane.co.za or call the customer care centre on 012-358-4848.