The BRT Thread of "It's so awsome!"

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cr@zydude

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I thought that I should start a thread for people to talk about their thoughts and experiances of the BRT systems. It would be nice to hear different perspectives of all the different BRT systems in the cities.

Today I rode a BRT bus for the first time, and I can trully say that I have seen the future. I'm in PE and Algoa Bus had a brand new 30 seated 30 standing bus. It has a flat bottom, so no more climbing up the stairs. There are also 2 doors, but only the one was used, as we were on the normal road. These busses are great though, and I can't wait for the whole project to be done.
 
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You rode a bus, no?

I'm happy that the buses are finally making a long overdue appearance. Imagine if they had done this 10 years ago... sigh... Though I reckon it'll be a while before BRT becomes common-place in Kimberley - I have to say that it bodes well for people who are visiting Joburg and don't want to get caught up in the traffic*.

(* - Assuming the buses get their own lanes... they do right?)
 
Well since the West Rand has ones again been left out of any developments (yet our taxes are expected to pay for said developments) I guess I'll never know what "world class" public transport feels like. No BRT, no Cowtrain; only a run-down, useless metro bus service, what a shocking country we live in.
 
Roo! said:
Well since the West Rand has ones again been left out of any developments (yet our taxes are expected to pay for said developments) I guess I'll never know what "world class" public transport feels like. No BRT, no Cowtrain; only a run-down, useless metro bus service, what a shocking country we live in.
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The Westrand is ass. You guys don't even have any highways.
 
Well Durban had mini-buses a while ago(no separate lane though) for the beach front and parts of cbd. what was it called, i remember it was same a a local bird there.. Myna!! that's it. Anyway I remember it because we use to go to durbs on vac yrs ago and those little buses were useful(compared to driving around and looking for parking in the heat in dec).
 
krycor said:
Well Durban had mini-buses a while ago(no separate lane though) for the beach front and parts of cbd. what was it called, i remember it was same a a local bird there.. Myna!! that's it. Anyway I remember it because we use to go to durbs on vac yrs ago and those little buses were useful(compared to driving around and looking for parking in the heat in dec).
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Yes these small busses were really nice, ran all around the cbd, beaches and suburbs close by and they frigging stopped everywhere you could think off.
 
cr@zydude said:
I thought that I should start a thread for people to talk about their thoughts and experiances of the BRT systems. It would be nice to hear different perspectives of all the different BRT systems in the cities.

Today I rode a BRT bus for the first time, and I can trully say that I have seen the future. I'm in PE and Algoa Bus had a brand new 30 seated 30 standing bus. It has a flat bottom, so no more climbing up the stairs. There are also 2 doors, but only the one was used, as we were on the normal road. These busses are great though, and I can't wait for the whole project to be done.
Click to expand...

You say the ride was awesome, but give zero explanation of your experience. Pls expand (how does it link to other nodes? where did it pick up / drop off?was it convenient? is it a serious alternative for work-home commuting? facilities on board? costs?...or is it just a bus that looks and drives snazzy???)
 
me sees visions of BRT buses and terminals on fire in the next two weeks after being petrol bombed by the Taxi Industry.
 
ponder said:
54Mbs wireless internet included in ticket price :D
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Obviously the internet is a dialup modem in the front and you're getting quoted the speed of the wireless connection around the bus for some reason.

I have a 1Gbs internet connection to my modem btw!!
 
Kompete said:
You say the ride was awesome, but give zero explanation of your experience. Pls expand (how does it link to other nodes? where did it pick up / drop off?was it convenient? is it a serious alternative for work-home commuting? facilities on board? costs?...or is it just a bus that looks and drives snazzy???)
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Sorry man, you are right. The whole netwrok isn't up yet in PE, but the route I took was from NMMU to Greenacres, it's part of what they are calling the 'circle route'.

The new bus seems to be slightly more rectangular, if that makes senses, it seems flatter on all dimensions. It has 2 doors on it, one at the driver and another half way down the bus. Only the one was open today though, as the bus wasn't in it's lane.

You can walk straight into the bus, there are no stairs to climb. The bottom of the bus is at street level. You can still pay cash, but that is being phased out for a 'Super Bus Pass'. A one way trip costs R7.30 and a week pass about R66 and a month R275. I had a pass so I just showed the driver, said where i wanted to go and got a ticket.

Inside, the buss has 30 seats and standing space for 30 people. the front has mostly standing space, which overhead rails and straps to hold onto. There are also about 10 seats on the lower level. At the back, the seats are on a raised part of the buss, with a step and slope upwards. About 20 seats are up there. They are plastic with a 'bucket design' and have padding and fabric covers.

There is a sign that tells you when the bus is stopping, which I quite like. There are buttons to alert the driver that you want to stop all along the bus.

The route was from the South campus, past North campus, where there was a slight run in with taxi owners, and along beach road in summerstrand. It goes towards central and into the main bus station. There it stops to allow people on and off. From there it goes past city hall and up white street to rink street, and then Cape road. It then goes down Cape road and turns into Greenacres.

It was less than a 40 minute journey in total. It takes about 25 -30 minutes to drive the same distance.

Hope that clears some things up. :D
 
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I really do hope this takes of in a big way and becomes a success.
 
Thanks for telling us about BRT, I've seen a map of the routes planned for Cape Town, and I think it's going to make a big difference once fully complete.

If you take the bus again, take some photos for us please.
 
cr@zydude said:
Sorry man, you are right. The whole netwrok isn't up yet in PE, but the rout I took was from NMMU to Greenacres, it's part of what they are calling the 'circle route'.

The new bus seems to be slightly more rectangular, if that makes senses, it seems flatter on all dimensions. It has 2 doors on it, one at the driver and another half way down the bus. Only the one was open today though, as the bus wasn't in it's lane.

You can walk straight into the bus, there are no stairs to climb. The bottom of the bus is at street level. You can still pay cash, but that is being phased out for a 'Super Bus Pass'. A one way trip costs R7.30 and a week pass about R66 and a month R275. I had a pass so I just showed the driver, said where i wanted to go and got a ticket.

Inside, the buss has 30 seats and standing space for 30 people. the front has mostly standing space, which overhead rails and straps to hold onto. There are also about 10 seats on the lower level. At the back, the seats are on a raised part of the buss, with a step and slope upwards. About 20 seats are up there. They are plastic with a 'bucket design' and have padding and fabric covers.

There is a sign that tells you when the bus is stopping, which I quite like. There are buttons to alert the driver that you want to stop all along the bus.

The route was from the South campus, past North campus, where there was a slight run in with taxi owners, and along beach road in summerstrand. It goes towards central and into the main bus station. There it stops to allow people on and off. From there it goes past city hall and up white street to rink street, and then Cape road. It then goes down Cape road and turns into Greenacres.

It was less than a 40 minute journey in total. It takes about 25 -30 minutes to drive the same distance.

Hope that clears some things up. :D
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:D oh to have first world transport infrastructure. It is cool though. Some of the more modern buses here in London have the ding dongs for want of a more technical word, they have cctv, and there is an information screen at the front ogf the bus where an automated voice tells you which is the next stop. Additionally in the area in which I live there are many bus stops that have digital signs telling you when the next bus is, or how long a wait there is for the next bus.

Is this what the BRT is aiming for?
 
oh the BRT system is just great. the douche bags forgot to budget for the flippin buses so now they need another R2 billion.
 
Garyvdh said:
me sees visions of BRT buses and terminals on fire in the next two weeks after being petrol bombed by the Taxi Industry.
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I hope not. I'd be glad to see the police or army called in to protect the busses for the first few weeks.
 
cr@zydude said:
I hope not. I'd be glad to see the police or army called in to protect the busses for the first few weeks.
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The army? Dude, the army are on strike! The police were firing rubber bullets at them two days ago.

And the police? They better be wearing fireproof gear... because these mad taxi drivers are going to be setting fire to buses.
 
Garyvdh said:
The army? Dude, the army are on strike! The police were firing rubber bullets at them two days ago.

And the police? They better be wearing fireproof gear... because these mad taxi drivers are going to be setting fire to buses.
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Some army members were on strike. But I realise that the taxis may try to set buses on fire, but I think having police presence may discourge them.
 
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