Business urged to join party

THE TRAFFIC and transport frustration will soon be over in Pinetown, business representatives were told during a bus tour of the R2.7 billion first leg of the GO!Durban Integrated Rapid Public Transport Network (IRPTN) last week.

Substantial challenges resulting from bad weather, locating and replacing aged infrastructure, and taxi industry disruptions, caused delays, but all is set to be completed by March.

A tender for new buses is imminent and the first route of the R22bn project is scheduled to be operational by 2018.

The excursion, dubbed the Hambanathi (come with us) Experience, was aimed at harnessing the private sector’s creativity and innovation.

The 30 captains of industry and business who went along for the ride got a glimpse of the impressive infrastructure and insight into potential business opportunities.

eThekwini Transport Authority’s deputy head of road systems management Carlos Esteves told the tour that it was one thing to build the network, but another to ensure that it was efficient and sustainable.

The municipality is out to reverse the existing system’s negatives such as residents spending at least 30 percent of their monthly earnings to commute long distances and the wastage when buses, taxis and trains have to return along routes empty.

In a nutshell, the GO!Durban objective is to ensure that 85 percent of Durbanites have safe, affordable, scheduled public transport. It also aims to provide opportunities for densification, mixed use and transit-orientated development, and architectural renewal that will result in urban regeneration and the