REFILWE GAESWE
Bloemfontein has fallen behind from other cities in implementing the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.
This is according to Bill Campbell from the Department of Transport. He said Bloemfontein is one of the cities that received the public network grant from National Treasury after the department required for cities to submit information revealing their performance in implementing the BRT.
Campbell was speaking about Public Transport Network monitoring process and performance indicators at the 34th Southern African Transport Conference on Thursday in Pretoria. He said the city has great potential because the township of Mangaung is very close to the economic hub of the city therefore it automatically blends itself to the BRT system.
“I gave Bloemfontein a pilot study in 2007 and the non-development is going to show that Bloemfontein has many changes of staff and doesn’t have a politician who is pushing the system and it is wasted opportunity,” he said. I think South Africans’ big problem is that we are learners and we still don’t have the expertise or the energy to get up to speed. Until we can change the shape of our cities the revenue doesn’t come with a cost,” he said.
Campbell said BRT is just a device that lets people in public transport move quickly in a city where there is congestion. He added that Botshabelo and Thaba-Nchu are long distance commuting towns which are part of the apartheid system. It is very expensive travelling to Bloemfontein.
