The divisions are further supported by three specialised units:

• The Wonderboom Airport;
• The Bus Rapid Transit unit; and
• The Tshwane Bus Services unit.

The Wonderboom Airport

The Wonderboom Airport is a small airport for light aircraft situated north of the city and aims to:

• Stimulate growth and investment in the Tshwane region; and
• manage the airport professionally.

www.wonderboomairport.co.za

The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) unit

The Bus Rapid Transit unit aims to:

• Facilitate safe public transport and stimulate growth and economic development in the Tshwane region;
• maintain and ensure the sustainability of the service;
• improve service delivery and customer experience; and
• build positive feedback from the public and all other stakeholders.

The Tshwane Bus Services unit

The Tshwane Bus Services unit aims to:

• Provide a public bus service
• maintain and ensure the sustainability of buses;
• improve service delivery and customer experience; and
• build positive feedback from the public.

The Tshwane Bus Services operates from three depots: Ward 60 (C De Wet Depot/Head office), ward 2 (Pretoria North Depot) and ward 43 (Jan Niemand Park Depot). Ward 3 also includes a customer care office.

The global economic downturn has increased the popularity of public transport in the area. People are choosing public transport over using their own vehicles, in an effort to curb costs.

The Tshwane Bus Services adheres to 96,5% of its published schedule and delivers a highly subsidised public transport service to residents of those areas which enjoy coverage.

The Gautrain

The Gautrain rapid rail link is a state-of-the-art rapid rail network currently under construction. The rail will comprise of two links, namely a link between Tshwane and Johannesburg and a link to OR Tambo International Airport. Apart from the three anchor stations on these two links, seven other stations will be linked by approximately 80 kilometres of rail along the proposed route.

The three anchor stations are located at:

• OR Tambo International Airport
• Tshwane Inner City
• Johannesburg Inner City

Apart from three anchor stations, seven other stations are being linked by about 80 kilometres of rail along the proposed route.

The seven other stations are located at:

• Rosebank;
• Sandton;
• Marlboro;
• Midrand;
• Centurion;
• Hatfield; and
• Rhodesfield (Kempton Park).

This modern train offers international standards of public transport with high levels of safety, reliability, predictability and comfort. Travelling at maximum speeds of 160 to 180 kilometres per hour it reaches Tshwane from Johannesburg in less than 40 minutes. The minimum frequency between Johannesburg and Tshwane will be six trains per hour per direction and operate approximately 18 hours per day. This public transport service will also include dedicated, exclusive bus services for the transport of passengers to and from stations.
The distance between Tshwane and Johannesburg will be covered in less than 35 minutes at a speed of 160 km/h or more.

Besides dedicated bus services, this public transport service will offer international standards of public transport with high levels of safety, reliability, predictability and comfort.

Hatfield Station Precinct

The Gautrain Hatfield Station is located within the Hatfield Business Node adjacent to the existing railway line between the Rissik and Hartebeesspruit Stations.
The Hatfield Station precinct is bounded by School Lane in the north, Duncan Street in the east, the existing railway line in the south and Grosvenor Street in the west. The station is occupied by a multi-storey parking garage for park-and-ride passengers, a drop-off and short-term facility, facilities for bicycles, and loading bays for the feeder-and-distribution vehicles that serve the Hatfield Station. The platforms are accessible by stairs and escalators from ground level and by lifts to accommodate physically impaired passengers. Hatfield Station is the last station on the primary north-south axis of the Gautrain system between the Johannesburg Park Station and Hatfield Station. There are two further stations in the City of Tshwane namely the Centurion Station at Centurion Lake and Pretoria Station adjacent to the historic Pretoria Main Station.
The Hatfield Station precinct has been fully integrated with the surrounding business and residential developments. An important component of the conceptual planning of the station area is safe, efficient and pleasant pedestrian linkages to a pedestrian axis that runs along the existing railway line from Duncan Street and the Hartebeesspruit Station in the east to Rissik Station and the Hatfield Galleries Centre in the west.

The extension of Grosvenor Street across the railway line will contribute significantly to more convenient and efficient traffic and pedestrian circulation in the Hatfield area.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)

Note: Kate’s notes say 80 kilometres, but this Engineering News article claims 472 km? http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/tshwane-says-work-on-r19bn-bus-scheme-to-start-next-year-2007-08-24

BRT systems enhance bus efficiency through segregated bus lanes, designs that make boarding and exiting buses quick, bus priority at intersections and effective coordination at stations and terminals.

According to the Department of Transport, the concept of a modern Bus Rapid Transit System (BRT) is critical to the success of South Africa's transport systems. Local transport cannot work if it does not incorporate a good bus service that is accessible, affordable and attractive to a broad range of people across society.

In line with this thinking, Tshwane’s BRT system is a high-quality, customer-oriented bus service that delivers fast, comfortable and low-cost urban mobility. Integrating road transport with rail, its primary objective is to move large volumes passengers from all walks of life – including school children, workers or business executives – in a safe, reliable and clean service.

BRT is a global concept, with more than 47 BRT systems operating worldwide. The most extensive systems are based in Latin America. In South Africa, besides Tshwane, the City of Johannesburg, the City of Cape Town and Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality are all implementing BRT systems.

In Tshwane, the comprehensive BRT project – which could be regarded as a mini-Gautrain – typically involves dedicated bus way corridors on segregated lanes. Since BRT buses have a higher axle load than normal buses, these dedicated lanes may either be newly-created, additional lanes, or existing lanes that have been reinforced.

Addressing a total of some 80 kilometres of bus lines, there are two phases to the Tshwane BRT project:

• Line 1 will comprise of 19 stations and will run from Mabopane to the central business district (CBD)
• Line 2 will comprise of 43 stations and run from the CBD, past Menlyn and on to Mamelodi

Since Line 1 services the northern areas of Tshwane, it will have different operating characteristics from Line 2, with long stretches of road without commuters. Its flow will be directional, with most commuters’ point of origin being their homes. Here 90 percent of commuting will be inward-bound, with 10 percent going out in the mornings; this trend will be reversed in the afternoons.

Line 2, which has far more commuters along the line, will cater for multiple directions. Densities here will differ from Line 1 – for example, between Arcadia and Sunnyside, 60 percent of commuters could be inward-bound, with 40 percent outgoing.

In designing the 62 BRT stations, cognisance has been made of where they are being built, and all efforts have been made to ensure that each is appropriate for the environment it will be in. To this end, four different BRT station designs are being implemented – urban, residential, heritage and freeway.

With the roll-out of the BRT system, the city of Tshwane has created a operating company responsible for building the key infrastructure – comprising bus ways, stations, depots, a control centre and termini – and has also contracted third party operators, including taxis and buses, to fill in any gaps.

The Tshwane BRT will eventually replace existing buses and taxis where services have traditionally been provided. This could entail buying out taxis operating licenses, these operators will be absorbed into the new BRT system.

The Tshwane BRT will use the very latest, modernised bus technologies, including intelligent transport systems, a fibre optic backbone, Wi-Fi, CCTV, and real-time commuter information boards, which can provide such details as when the next bus is due.

An integrated electronic fare collection system, based on smart cards, will allow commuters to top up their cards at retailers like Pick ’n Pay, or by using the Internet. Vending machines will also be available to dispense cash tickets.

Buses will also be tracked via CCTV and GPS monitoring, which will allow the operator to determine whether buses are ahead or behind schedule.

BRT operations will revolve around a system of closed stations which have been designed to enable commuters to enter buses on the same level as the platform; this system of level boarding is suitable for all people.

The plan is that from five in the morning until midnight, BRT buses will run at two to four minute intervals during peak periods, and seven to ten minutes during off-peak periods.

Like the Gautrain, each BRT station can be fed by feeder lines – which could comprise of buses and taxis. The Pretoria station interfaces the BRT system with the Gautrain and traditional rail services, with the existing ring rail system being upgraded and modernised.