Tours in Cape Town

Posts Tagged ‘bus stations’

I’ve lived in Cape Town for nearly 60 years and over that time have never seen Cape Town as it is today.

There are flags everywhere in the northern suburbs, at restaurants, on cars, in and around shopping centres and at every traffic light, there is someone selling world cup paraphernalia but next to nothing in the city of Cape Town.

The last time I saw something like this was in Ireland for a hurling final in Dublin.

Cape Town ’s suburbs have suddenly come alive with the realisation that the world’s largest event is but a few days away. From being been dead with roads blocked as contractors rebuilt them, traffic delays like you cannot believe when large vehicles failed to negotiate the detours and either turned over or jumped the barriers into oncoming lanes. The city has gone from night to day. Everyone and his friend is suddenly wearing Bafana jerseys to back the local team

Even I who am not a football fan have gone out and bought some flags.

One can feel the excitement building in the streets as the event draws closer.

Bridge and road building contractors  have had a torrid time trying to get their work done, while trying to keep the traffic flowing and contend with strikes, arranging night work to catch up and get their contracts completed on time.  There is still  however some tidying up to do before the world cup event.

Fifa laid down some very stringent rules before allowing us to host the world cup and one of them is that there is to be no construction happening within a 10 kilometre radius of the Cape Town stadium during the world cup event.

No one visiting Cape Town wants to be bothered with detours caused by construction during the event and I can assure you that the local tour operators will be just as pleased as they are likely to be rushed off their feet moving people from the airport to the city and around the city on tours.

In an effort to decrease traffic loads on our roads June school holidays which normally last three weeks during June will start on the 4 ^th of June and will continue till after the world cup event is completed.

With contractors and their large construction vehicles being moved off the streets of the city there should be a decrease of approximately 30% in traffic loads during the event.

Contractors will have to close down their activities during the world cup event staff getting no pay during this period. That is bound to cause them some hardship as most of the workers live from hand to mouth.

So what has been completed?

Roads such as the Koeberg Interchange which is not a world cup project will be partially completed and should not be a hindrance to traffic during the event,

The off ramp from the N1 onto the M5 (Blackriver parkway ) has been completed and should take away many of the backlogs caused by traffic backing up to go into Maitland or to the southern suburbs along the M5. It has not yet been opened to traffic. so for the moment there is till some backlogs on this section of the N1.

The Koeberg Interchange project is ongoing and will only be completed in a years time. The contractors however have to have the N1 and Table Bay boulevard free of detours by the start of the World cup tournament if they are not already completed. (I have not been able to drive along these roads for a while to see exactly what has been done)

The other large road construction project was the bus lanes from the airport into the city and also the new bridges and redirection of traffic at hospital bend which always caused headaches for the traffic authorities. Listening to traffic reports in the mornings and afternoons at peak times there were always accidents or mishaps on this section of road as cars were forced to cross a number of lanes to get either into town along eastern boulevard or along de Waal drive.

Driving out of town cars had to cross lanes to get to the southern suburbs or onto the N2 to the airport. This slowed traffic and often caused accidents. All this crisscrossing has now been sorted out as motorists have to preselect their lanes a long way before reaching hospital bend.

There is still one headache still to be sorted out and that is the minibus taxis who persist in taking the fastest moving lane instead of the lane that they should use to get to their destinations. Hopefully traffic authorities will sort them out and teach them the error of their ways.

To further alleviate traffic congestion in the city a rapid bus and train transportation system has been introduced and residents and guests to South Africa are urged to use the new public transport systems to find their way into our city.

Below I have set out how and where to catch the various modes of public transport that are available during the world cup.

Transport to and from the Cape Town International Airport

From today the new bus rapid trasnsport system from the airport to the city and back has gone into operation.

The “ Good News” is that visitors and locals can now catch a BRT Bus from the airport to the city at a cost of about R50.00, a lot less than the car taxis will charge you.

Newspapers report that the rides are comfortable, safe, and also wheel chair friendly People who have tried out the new transport system were pleasantly surprised at how modern and spacious the new buses are with space for luggage and passengers alike.

Stations where these buses dock have synchronised door opening mechanisms and ramp facilities and if the buses are not docking at a station have a crouch down ability to allow passengers off the buses at pavement height. Doors on the buses are a metre above the ground so there is no running and jumping onto a bus as it leaves its station if you happen to be a bit late.

The new bus service has a lot of benefits for those that use them.

As the buses are travelling in dedicated lanes they will not be stuck in traffic jams so you are likely to get to town or to the airport a whole lot faster than you would if you took a taxi or used your private vehicle.

Secondly using a bus will save you looking for parking in the city or getting stuck in a traffic jam should a road be blocked due to an accident.

Thirdly, it is estimated that travelling by taxi or in a private car from the city to the airport could take at least two hours during the world cup.

The buses cover the distance in about half an hour and will not have parking problems as cars and taxis will experience at the airport.

During daylight hours buses will leave the airport every 10 minutes so you won’t have to wait too long for transport into town.

Getting to the Cape Town Stadium on Match Days

On match days getting to and from the Cape Town stadium could be a problem if you are in private transport. The roads around the stadium are going to be blocked off to all traffic and the only way to get to the stadium is if you have pre-arranged parking and permits to enter the secluded zone. The only other options available to you are to walk from the city through the V & A Waterfront to the stadium or to catch a rapid transport bus.

The city has laid on the following park and ride facilities for locals and visitors to use during the world cup event and on match days.

Bus park and Ride Facilities.

On match days buses will leave from the Civic Centre for the stadium every couple of minutes and will be free for all people with tickets for the match.

People coming into the city by train will have to walk to the civic centre bus station, about 10 minutes from the Cape Town railway station.

There are a number of bus park and ride facilities situated outside the city centre where people going to the matches can park and catch a bus to the stadium.

The Atlantic Coastline.

There is a bus park and ride facility with secure parking at the Kronendal Primary School in Hout bay. A second park and ride facility can be found in Camps bay at the Camps Bay High School and Maidens Cove. This will allow people who are coming from the southern suburbs of Cape Town to park outside the city and keep out of the traffic jams expected in the city. Parking at the two schools and Maidens Cove will attract a nominal fee for the privilege of parking there.

Unfortunately not all bus tickets are free. Bus tickets from Kronedal in Hout bay and Camps Bay will be charged for depending on the distance to be travelled on the buses.

There is a third bus park and ride facility wat The UCT campus in Rondebosch and tickets on these buses will be free to all match ticket holders.

For information purposes I am listing startingtimes for the matches being played at the Cape Town Stadium.

The matches in Cape Town will kickoff as follows

11^th June match starts at 20.30 pm

14^th June match starts at 20.30 pm

18^th June match starts at 20.30 pm

21 st June match starts at 13.30 pm

24^th June match starts at 20.30 pm

29^th June match starts at 20.30 pm

3^rd July match starts at 16.00 pm

6^th July match starts at 20.30 pm

The bus services linking the various park and ride facilities will run as follows:

From 14.30pm for matches starting at 20.30 pm.

From 7.30am for matches starting at 13.30 pm

From 10.00am for matches starting at 16.00 pm.

After the match the buses will run for four hours so you should have enough time to get home before the system closes down.

Rail Servives.

The public can gain access to rail services through 26 park and ride venues. Special event rail services will run fromn the 4^th of June to the 16^th of July. Rail event services are normal rail services but with extended after hour services which will operate till 2.00 am in the morning, They are not free!

The rail park and ride venues offer 7000 parking bays and will serve as gateways for the match on the day. These venues have been clearly signposted so it should be relatively easy to find them if you are using the trains to get to a match.

At this park and ride facility fans will have a long dark walk to the railway station if buses are not provided to carry passengers to the station which is situated on the east side of the N1 more or less opposite Ratanga Junction.

All parking venues will have security in place and will be manned by volunteers to answer any questions guests to the matches will have.

Ten major stations have been identified around Cape Town to assist normal rail commuters and visitors to get to the match venue on time.

They are:

Northern suburbs lines

Goodwood ( Grand West)

Century City

Oostersee,

Brackenfell,

Kuils River

Strand.

Southern Suburbs lines

Fish Hoek

Retreat

Claremont

Cape Flats line

Ottery

Five stations have been identified as destination stations.

These stations are all close to PVR’s (public viewing areas or fan parks)

They are:

Cape Town station ( The Grand parade PVR)

Bellville station (Bellville velodrome)

Athlone station (Vygieskraal Stadium)

Mitchells Plain station (Swartklip Sports centre)

Nonkqubela station (OR Tambo sports centre)

All event park and rides facilities will have the following amenities.

Additional security including SA Police services in attendance.

Improved signage at all event stations

Event and transportation information notice boards or information desks

Extended ticket sales hours.

Park and Ride Times.

There will be a daily service from all park and ride railway stations for the duration of the world cup event.

Security will be on hand from 10.00 am in the morning till 18.00pm or until the last train has departed.

Information desks will be manned from 10.00am till 18.00pm daily during the event.

If you are going to be using public transport it is in your own interest to leave yourself enough time to negotiate all the various transport modes you will have to negotiate to get to the Cape Town Stadium. Bus stations although they will have many buses available will still be very full as they are going to have to move many thousands of people in a short period of time.

Leave home early so that you will not miss the kickoffs of the various matches. Once you get to the stadium follow the signage below to get in to see the game.

Enjoy this once in a life time event in Cape Town.

It is not likely to happen in our lifetime again.

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Cape Town decided way back in 2004 that it needed to do something about the burgeoning traffic loads on our roads. A number of reasons for the increased traffic loads exist.

Trains in the past carried most of our freight between the larger centres. Due to the deterioration in the railway systems over the past few years road transport has become more widely used and hence we today have thousands of large trucks carrying freight to all parts of the country on our roads.

A second problem started around 1990  when people  from all over  South Africa and the rest of Africa identified the city as a place to find work and  arrived in droves and settled on the Cape Flats where there was no housing,  very little infrastructure and no reliable public transport to get them to work.

Someone saw the transport  gap in the market and the mini bus taxi industry was born.

Over the years the minibus taxi industry has grown out of  its seams and there are today thousands of these minibus taxis on our roads.  To make matters worse these drivers are a law unto themselves and do not heed traffic lights, overload vehicles and don’t mind stopping in the middle of a busy road or intersection to pick up  passengers. Of course speed limits and traffic signs are there to be ignored as are red traffic lights.

In an effort to bring some order back onto the roads  and to clear some of the congestion caused by all the extra traffic the IRT system (integrated rapid transport system) was decided upon.

The objective of implementing the system is to get cars off our roads and to get people to use public transport.

The IRT system.

The aim of introducing Cape Town Integrated Rapid Transit System is to transform the public transport sector in the city and improve the public’s experience. The IRT plan will eventually integrate all modes of transport such as the Metrorail services,  road-based services on less important routes, bus services,  minibus taxis,  feeder bus services,  improved pedestrian and bicycle access,  metered taxi integration, and park-and-ride facilities.

The way the system will be introduced into Cape Town is by using a transport system known as the BRT or Bus Rapid Transport system.

The BRT system will be quick, comfortable, cost effective and have frequent operations along the dedicated routes they will follow. The idea is to provide excellent customer service which will cost less than using a car into the city and which will eventually persuade Cape Town’s motorists to use public transport instead of their cars.

By reducing the numbers of cars on our roads we will also reduce the carbon footprint of our city.

So how is this BRT system being implemented?

Dedicated bus lanes will provide the public with drastically reduced travel times as the buses will be able to move quickly during peak hours without the problems of having to negotiate traffic blockages caused by accidents and just too many cars on our roads.

Motorists sitting in their cars watching the buses whisk past them while they are stuck in a traffic jam will soon get the message that they can save a lot of time and money and frustration by using the BRT system.

Because the buses will be running in dedicated lanes they will use fuel more efficiently which will bring about a large saving and therefore reduce the bus fares to the public.

Construction ot he BRT lanes.

A number of routes have been planned and construction is underway on them.

The route between the Bayside Mall near Table View and the city is going along at pace and should be completed by the time the World Cup is played in the city.  This was one of the laid down conditions of getting the World Cup in Cape Town. The route runs through Woodstock, Paarden Eiland and across the Salt River canal before it links to the R27 and heads north.

The next phase of this route will include areas such Du Noon, Atlantis and Mamre on the West Coast and will be built after the world cup.

Construction work includes a dedicated lane for cyclists.

Bus Stations

Bus stations along the 16km west coast route will have surveillance cameras, electronic information boards and security guards protecting them. The surveillance cameras  along the route will be monitored at a control room based in Goodwood.

The buses to be used in the BRT system have been ordered from Volvo  by the City of Cape Town and will start arriving in March 2010 in time to train drivers who have to be ready  for the World Cup.

Possible problems.

With the amount of work still to be done on the bus lanes will the work be finished by kickoff for the World Cup?

A drive along the route from Bayside to Milnerton today revealed that most of the bus lanes have been completed although there is still work to do on the stations and at intersections.

All the bus stations along the route are in the centre of the Otto du Plessis  Drive which is a double carriage highway.  How are people going to get to the bus stations without being knocked over especially during peak hour traffic periods?

As most of the bus stations are situated at busy intersections  I imagine that access to the stations  will be controlled by pedestrian crossings at the traffic lights.  Will traffic adhere to the lights and allow pedestrians to cross?

On the other hand will pedestrians wait for the lights to change or will they jaywalk across the busy highway to catch  a bus.

Some of the stations,  for example the one at the intersection of  Zastron Road and the  Otto du Plessis Drive  at present do not have traffic lights. Are they going to install lights at these intersections?

As the BRT system at present is limited to the Otto du Plessis Drive there is no way  for people to use public transport to get to the bus stations other than to use private cars .

There is  no parking for those who are willing to drive to a bus station along the Otto du Plessis and catch a bus into town.  Until parking near the stations is provided or feeder transport is introduced from the suburbs around Milnerton very few locals will be able to use the transport system.

Some more photos of the West coast route.

Will we be ready for the world cup?

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