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Johannesburg is a young and sprawling city and with its public transportation system was built in its infancy it is hard to get around. The city has grown north and the system concentrates on the south however even there it is badly degraded and in need of an upgrade.The city of Johannesburg though has invested a large percentage of its budget to this problem.
Contents
Heavy rail/ Metrorail system
Johannesburgs metrorail system is run by PRASA. However, due to years of underinvestment it has degraded badly with most of the fleet being over 50 years old, also multiple concerns have been raised about its safety. PRASA and the government have acknowledged these issues and have invested R172 billion (the equivalent of $1.1 billion) towards modernization of the entire system including the fleet. Over the next 25 years this plan will be implemented with 60% of the units manufactured locally. The routes cover only the southern area of Johannesburg.
Suburban Rail/Rapid Rail
Johannesburg unlike the common misconception doesn't have a light rail system rather it has a rapid rail system known as the Gautrain. Built in 2010 to provide a reliable and efficient rail to the northern suburbs that do not have a heavy rail/ metro system and to alleviate traffic on the N1 Ben schoeman highway, the highway between Johannesburg and Pretoria, it is said to be the busiest highway in the Southern Hemisphere. Seeing completion in 2012 the Gautrain has grown to become a huge success, transporting so many people a day it had to expand its fleet. The Gautrain works on a smartcard system, the passenger taps in at the first/starting station and taps out at the next station. However some believe that the R24 billion ( the equivalent of $1.7 billion) could have been spent on other more essential projects, such as housing, water etc. A 200 km, 18 station expansion is underway with 3 new lines being built, this could take a total of 12 years to complete. Bringing the total amount of stations to 28 and the amount of track to 280 km in total. The system also runs a feeder bus system that uses the same smartcard system as the trains with your average trip costing about $0.65 however the routes only cover a 5–8 km radius neglecting many areas.
North-south line
Hatfield (PT)------Pretoria (PT)---------Centurion (JHB)-------------Midrand (JHB)----------Sandton (JHB)---------Rosebank (JHB)-------Park (JHB)
East-west line
Sandton (JHB)---------Malbro(JHB, near Alexandria)---------Rhodsfield (JHB)--------ORTIA (JHB, OR Thambo International Airport)
Metrobus
Metrobus is Johannesburgs primary and largest bus service operating a large amount of routes in the Greater Johannesburg Area. The routes are extensive and cover most of Johannesburg with many focusing on schools.
Fee/payment system, Metrobus
The fees are determined according to a zonal system with the fee increasing with every zone crossed. and are ranged from R7/$0.5a maximum of R40/$3.5( e.g. park station to Midrand, 8 zones crossed, a total of 30 km ) Fees are paid with cash/hard money or a pre-loaded card ( cheaper than cash) similar to a subway system, with discounts to scholars and pensioners.
Fleet condition, Metrobus
The fleet is in generally good condition with new buses been purchased and phasing out the old ones. A new Eco-Friendly fleet have been purchased recently, some of the features include tinted windows to save fuel on air conditioning, Eco-Friendly fuel, plush seats etc. A fleet purchased even more recently is co-branded with the Rea Vaya showing the city's efforts to integrate public transportation.
Bus Rapid Transit/ Rea Vaya
Johannesburg is known is South Africa and Africa for having bumper to bumper traffic, taking this into consideration, the city designed a cheap affordable to build and efficient system in 2010 to get people from far away to the city center to work and to the stadiums without the notorious taxi industry, the best option was a BRTS, the first in Africa, named the Rea Vaya which means "we are going". The goal of the project is to make the entire city accessible to at least 80% of residents. At the time of writing the system is safe, cheap and effective. The trunk and complimentary routes run on their own lanes avoiding the infamous j'oburg traffic jams and the feeder routes run on roads like normal buses.
Fee/payment system, Rea Vaya
The system works on a smartcard system with the passenger "taping in"( touching the smartcard onto the reader at the station or bus, depending on the route, Feeder routes have no stations instead they have buses and trunk and complimentary routes have large stations) and taping out at the destination station/ bus stop. The fee is determined according to distance traveled, approximately R5/ $0.4 per kilometer. This is a cheap and affordable option competing with the minibus taxi industry.
Safety and effectiveness
The system is safe and clean, with CCTV cameras at all stations along with security guards, this not only keeps the stations and system safe but also the area around it. The system provides a safe efficient transportation opinion to those who do not want to use minibus taxis, however the system also integrates the minibus taxi industry with many stations being nearby taxi ranks declared by the city of Johannesburg ( where all the minibus taxis collect an where routes start)
Routes (as of August 2016)
Trunk Route
Runs from Soweto to central Johannesburg, An enormous distance. By the end of 2017 the route will run to Sandton and Rosebank in the north and by 2022 it will run to Midrand as well a huge distance of 150 km.