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Rea Vaya to get an inner city bus depot

26 January 2017

 

The Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA), the City of Johannesburg’s infrastructure development and maintenance entity, is revamping the existing Selby bus depot in the Johannesburg inner city to turn it into a state-of-the-art Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) depot.

 

The refurbishment of the depot, which was formerly used by Putco buses, include:

  • The replacement of a portion of the existing concrete paving to create a bus parking platform. This includes the construction of new concrete paving stabs on the identified footprint;

  • The construction of a traffic circle for bus turnaround and depot access facilitation adjacent to the site on the Pat Mbatha Highway;

  • The removal and replacement of the depot’s boundary fence and internal fences; and

  • The provision of two off-street parking embankments on the perimeter site.


JDA Chief Executive Thanduxolo Mendrew said the redevelopment of the Selby bus depot formed part of Phase 1B Rea Vaya works.

“In 2013, JDA developed the first depot in Meadowlands in Soweto. The development of an inner city depot was identified in order to reduce dead mileage during off-peak hours as previously buses would return to the Meadowlands depot or the Booysens layover to wait.

“You would find empty buses having to wait at these depots before travelling back to the City. This will now be the thing of the past. The move will also help in reducing unnecessary carbon emissions,” Mendrew said.

The Selby bus depot is being revamped to be on par with the Meadowlands depot, which is environmentally friendly and custom-made for Rea Vaya buses.

The depot, which can accommodate up to 270 buses at a time, comprises a bus parking area, administration and maintenance blocks, underground fuel tanks and an area where the buses can either be hand or by machine.

Environmentally friendly features include lights controlled by sensors; a robust, mild steel sheeting for the roof; and cladding to help with climate control and a noise-wall barrier erected around the premises.

The roof structures also allow direct sunlight into the building to reduce the need for lighting. Water is recycled for reuse in the buildings and the wash bay.

The revamping of the Selby bus depot, which started in August 2016, is expected to be completed in May 2017.

 

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