Red, blue and white Rea Vaya bus stations looked real snazzy against the backdrop of Thokoza Park in Soweto on Tuesday morning.
After all the traffic and taxi drama brought on by the construction of these stations, I decided to take a ride on the buses to judge this new system for myself.
At Thokoza Park I was greeted by an electronic ticker which echoed the London underground: ”Welcome to Rea Vaya Service. Mind the gap while boarding.”
It costs R5 a ticket to ride to the last stop, Ellis Park — a bargain, ask any taxi commuter. Tickets are also valid for two hours from the time of purchase.
”I’m happy about the price, even though I know it’ll change,” says Maggie (who witheld her surname), also in the queue.
After five minutes the bus arrives, and two Rea Vaya attendants stop us to check our tickets. Asked why they aren’t in uniform they unzip their sweaters to expose their Rea Vaya branded T-shirts. ”We’re scared of the taxi drivers,” they both explain.
”In the morning a taxi blocked a bus route so officials are still nervous,” says Nelly Tsotetsi, a BRT supervisor on the day shift.
”We close the station doors at eight in the evening and open at quarter to five. At off peak, buses come after every 20 minutes and on peak after every 15 minutes, ” she adds.
We climb on at exactly 9.34am. The bus smells new and the blue-covered, well-spaced seats are comfortable.
After Thokoza Park the bus stops at Regina Mundi; the route gives the ride a slightly historic and scenic feeling. More commuters jump on board at Empuleni Station and Boomtown.
The sticker on the glass behind the driver reveals that the bus is certified to carry 51 passengers seated, 66 standing and two wheelchair users. Stickers synonymous with the taxi trade: ”I love your perm but not on my window” or ”No heavyweights in front seat ”– are mercifully absent.
Cars going in the same direction still seem slightly confused. Several drivers have to reverse out of the BRT lane — another boon for those used to rush-hour hold-ups on the way to work.
We stop at the Orlando police station, then Orlando Stadium. The mood in the bus is contented, chilled. ”If you’re not in a hurry then you can just relax,” says Thomas Magubane, one of the passengers. Aaron Motosi agrees. ”It’s very nice. The taxi drops us off far away; Rea Vaya takes us straight to where we want to go.”
To remind us of our real situation, three armed police officers are sitting in front of me.
At the Mine View we see further evidence of the violent controversy surrounding the BRT project: soldiers with rifles patrol the area, while police nyalas and military trucks are parked at the BP Express shop across the road.
The BRT lane in Booysens is not yet complete, so the driver has to join the car lane for a while.
At Mavumi more people get on and, despite the taxi associations’ threats of guerrilla warfare, the bus fills up. Soon, passengers are standing in the aisle hanging on to the grey straps.
At the Westgate station there are more people queuing than there are at the nearby taxi rank.
Into town: Chancellor House Westbound, where a number of people get off; Library Gardens Eastbound; Carlton Eastbound, near the Carlton Centre.
The ride is so smooth and trouble-free that a middle-aged passenger a seat away is fast asleep.
Well-travelled Uchendu Onuoha is impressed, saying there’s no difference between Rea Vaya and buses he’s used overseas.
We pass Fashion Square, towards Noord Street and worm past the Johannesburg Art Gallery. Here a ticket inspector jumps on the bus and asks us asked how we’re enjoying the ride. A passenger shoots back ”Rea Vaya!” — we’re going!
At 10.42am we approach the Ellis Park Eastbound station — the end of our journey.
‘It’s frightening, despite all the police’
When the bus drove past Nancefield hostel in Soweto an abrupt, eerie silence gripped the interior and passengers dropped their heads slightly — just in case there was another shooting.
On Wednesday morning a large police and army contingent guarded the Rea Vaya bus route between Johannesburg and Soweto. Wailing sirens choked the atmosphere as buses filed in and out of the Emfuleni Bus Rapid Transit station, opposite the hostel.
Bus users woke up to news reports about the drive-by shooting at two buses near the hostel on Tuesday night, which injured a policeman and a passenger. Despite this, the stations were packed.
Taxi operators are blamed for the attacks. An angry taxi induna (leader) in Kliptown told the Mail & Guardian: ”We don’t want Rea Vaya. We’ve said it before and we’re saying it now — we don’t want it, no further comment.”
Makgotso Dladla (25) of Orlando West, who travels to Johannesburg daily, is afraid but adamant that she will not let taxi drivers control her life.
”There’s no way we’re going back to those uncomfortable taxis — to be disrespected, scolded and sometimes beaten up by the drivers. The police will protect us. I’m proud of the government for stamping its authority — it’s about time commuters were treated with respect,” she said.
Dladla, who started using Rea Vaya on Monday, said the bus service was much more efficient and reliable than taxis. ”My grandmother hasn’t been to Jo’burg in years — thanks to Rea Vaya, I’ll take her to town this weekend,” she said.
After hearing about the bus shootings, Pimville student Thabo Moekeletsi (20) decided to use a taxi to get to school.
”It’s frightening, even though there’s a lot of police and soldiers. No one knows what [the taxi operators] will do next. These guys are very dangerous and passengers are an easy target,” he said.
But he praised Rea Vaya for affordability and reliability. ”I am still scared to use the bus, but the more I see people using it, the more I am motivated to try them out.”
Khabisi Mosunkutu, the Gauteng minister of public safety and security, dismissed those out to disrupt the Rea Vaya system as ”a joke. We want to say to them that BRT continues, no matter what.”
Mosunkutu was a member of a team that visited the scene of the shooting on Wednesday morning. He said his department would continue to monitor the area, particularly the hostel, to prevent further attacks.
Soweto police also raided the hostel, where six suspects were arrested, two for possession of unlicensed firearms.
Not all taxi operators approve of the attempts at violent disruption. ”We’re totally distancing ourselves from these attacks. But we wish to [highlight] that anybody could be behind these shootings,” said United Taxi Association Forum spokesperson Ralph Jones.
He pleaded with the taxi industry to cooperate with the state and ”stop drifting apart,” adding that it was important that the taxi industry improve its services.
”We need to up our game as an industry. We need to educate our drivers about a lot of things, including customer care and conduct.”