Bus Rapid Transit in Johannesburg: Implications for Mini-bus Taxis

Posted: 01 Mar 2007

Related to: Johannesburg BRT System, Developing High-Quality, Low-Cost Mass Transit, South Africa
Contributed by: Aimée Gauthier, ITDP

Plans for the system will give owners of private minibuses – one of the few sectors where black South Africans could invest during apartheid – the chance to compete on a level playing field.

In November 2006, Johannesburg City Council approved a full BRT system, to be called Rea Vaya, which is scheduled to open by April 2009.  With the impetus of the upcoming 2010 Soccer World Cup, Mayor Amos Masondo has articulated a new vision of effective and sustainable public transport.  The project is being led by Mayoral Committee Member Rehana Moosajee and Director of Transportation Bob Stanway.  With support from the Clinton Climate Initiative, operational planning for the system is beginning in March for the Phase I system.  The 94-kilometer (54.4-mile) system will have a North – South corridor connecting Sunninghill to Soweto, with service to the central business district, and an East – West route connecting Sandton, Randburg, and Alexandra.

A key selling point for Mayor Masondo was the possibility of incorporating the existing minibus taxi industry into the new system as private operators.  During apartheid the minibus taxi industry was one of the few places where black South Africans were able to invest.  After the African National Congress took power, in order to prevent the creation of powerful mafias, no owner was allowed to own more than ten vehicles.  Because of their quasi-legal status, these minibus fleets could never become formal sector businesses.  Currently, Johannesburg has one public bus operator and one private bus operator, both of which are subsidized by the Municipality, and many small fleets of minibus taxis that are not subsidized.  Rea Vaya will encourage the existing minibus operators to form themselves into legal companies, and bid on the operating contracts, putting them on a level playing field with the current bus operators.

The long-term vision is to develop a system that places over 85% of Johannesburg’s population within 500 meters (.3 miles) of a Rea Vaya trunk or feeder corridor.