Corporate Social Review Magazine 3rd & 4th QUARTER 2012 | Page 118

connect businesses, people and places in a sustainable and cost-effective manner and, through this, improve the standard of living and quality of life of all the city's inhabitants and the overall competitiveness and growth of the city's economy. “This strategy is not just about transport, it aims to overcome and undo apartheid spatial planning, which deliberately caused urban sprawl and to link the disparate areas of Johannesburg,” says Rehana. Phase 1A of the project has already been completed and connects the densely populated township of Soweto with downtown Johannesburg. This 25 km route has 33 station stops, and includes a number of feeder routes, joining from the east and west and currently runs from Thokoza Park in Soweto, to Ellis Park and includes routes through the CBD. Rehana's face lights up as she tells stories of people who never before having set foot in Soweto, now traveling safely and reliably into the area. Phase 1B of the project is now under way and will help to connect people from disadvantages areas to healthcare hubs and educational institutions such as the University of Johannesburg and Wits. The long term plan is for the Rea Vaya to cover more than 300 kilometers of special public lanes and intersections, running north, south, east and west of the City, forty transport interchange nodes will be created, fundamentally altering the profile of public transport in the 116 City as all modes are integrated into one seamless system and become a transport option for 80% of the city's residents. There is huge international interest in the Rea Vaya buses which are considered to be the cleanest on the continent to run, running on low-sulphur diesel and employing advanced pollution reduction equipment. Officials say it is the single biggest initiative to tackle greenhouse gases in the city. They also claim that if only 15% of Johannesburg car users switched to Rea Vaya buses, instead of using their private vehicles, the city would cut its CO² emissions by 1.6 million tonnes by 2020. After more than 100 years of struggling to travel from one place to another, commuters in the City of Johannesburg will finally be able to shake off the remnants of the social and economic exclusion they experienced through their geographical isolation as a result of apartheid. Rehana's challenge to all South Africans is simply to ditch our cars, use public transport or in line with her Joburg 2040 vision of non-motorised transport cycle or walk using the soon to be built dedicated cycling and walking networks and in the process experience meeting and connecting with a diverse group of interesting people, people who just may change your life! CORPORATE SOCIAL REVIEW