South Africa Launches
Transport Scheme For 2010
The
South African government has launched a rapid
bus service ahead of the 2010 soccer World Cup.
It vowed to work together with the taxi industry
that had threatened violent protests against it.
Assurance
Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele said no jobs
would be lost and the industry would be partners
in the system.
In his words, "as government, we will ensure
that, as a direct result of BRT (Bus Rapid
Transit), no legitimate jobs are lost. We will
continue our intensive engagement with the taxi
industry on many issues including BRT."
Schedule
The bus service runs from Soweto, the biggest
township in South Africa, to Johannesburg city
centre and some of the stadiums that will
feature in the 2010 World Cup.
The South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO)
had threatened a nationwide strike, saying the
service would hurt their business.
Dialogue
It lost a court bid to stop the bus service and
said it would discuss the strike at a meeting on
Monday.
SANTACO spokesperson, Thabiso Molelekwa, said
the union was not ruling out talks with the
government.
World soccer governing body FIFA has flagged
public transport, severely neglected during
decades of apartheid rule, as a key challenge
South Africa needs to overcome as it prepares to
host next year's World Cup tournament.
An estimated 450,000 foreign tourists are
expected at the event, which takes place in
Africa for the first time.
South Africa is investing 170 billion rand in
transport for visitors during the soccer
tournament, including an integrated ticketing
system in several types of transport, including
rail, buses and mini-bus taxi services.
Reuters/Qasim / Funke