Cape Town - Durban is preparing for the start of the first route of the new GO!Durban integrated public transport network from Pinetown’s CBD to KwaMashu’s Bridge City.
As part of the eThekwini Municipality’s vision to be Africa’s most caring and liveable city by 2030, this integrated network of public transport is expected to "give people access to places and opportunities in a manner never before experienced in Durban".
The first route of the service is scheduled to be operation in the latter part of 2018.
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Recently named as South Africa's top city for quality of life, Durban ranked 89th overall in the 20th annual Mercer Quality of Living Survey. An improved public transport system would go a long way to upping its game in this regard, even if fellow citizens in Johannesburg and Cape Town might not understand how South Africa’s bronze medal city offers a better quality of life.
With an incredible outdoor, active lifestyle on offer, a unique cultural mix and resultant cuisine, excellent recreational infrastructure and year-round warm weather - Durban has long been established as a domestic tourist destination and international tourists are increasingly making Durban their first port of call as the city continues to develop as a world-class destination.
The first route from Pinetown’s CBD to KwaMashu’s Bridge City will feature a dedicated road lane only accessed by the new state-of-the-art GO!Durban buses, runs from Anderson Street in Pinetown’s CBD to Bridge City in KwaMashu utilising the provincial road MR577 (Dumisani Makhaye).
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Gumede says areas and precincts along the route have begun to attract investors and interest in developments, as the transport network now has the potential to attract critical mass to stimulate economic growth.
Along the routes, upgrades of urban precinct nodes with new lighting, street furniture and landscaping, have already begun to alter the way in which people use these spaces, making for much more user-friendly and safer environments.
“Our message to citizens, from commuters, operators and businesses – small, medium and large, is that as a city we can deliver the infrastructure and systems, but ultimately it is yours to embrace, look after and utilise for the betterment of all. This is a legacy project which means getting around the City and accessing opportunities will continue to improve, and in that there is enormous hope.”
“The City will be embarking on a communication campaign in the second quarter of 2018 to create awareness of how the new system will work, so that by the time it begins, commuters fully understand how to use it,” says Gumede.
For more information go to www.godurban.co.za
