Cape Town IRT System

[capetownguy]

At 31 Jan 2010

 

[capetownguy]

Cape reveals plans for 2010 transport network By Staff Writer

The City of Cape Town has unveiled its public transport plan to accommodate World Cup tourists and locals during the football tournament.

The plan envisages trains, buses, minibus taxis and metered taxis ferrying tourists to and from the airport, the Cape Town stadium and public viewing areas, and on an inner-city loop.

On match days, fans holding World Cup tickets will be able to travel to and from the stadium for free from more than 25 park-and-ride centres across the city, from as far afield as Strand.

Transport will be provided on other routes at regular intervals until late into the night throughout the tournament, from June 11 until July 11.

The city's public transport plan is to have at its centre main transport hubs on Hertzog Boulevard, adjacent to the Civic Centre, and Cape Town station.

 

[capetownguy]

A free shuttle bus for match ticket holders is to run from Hertzog Boulevard to the stadium. [/B]The service is to begin six hours before kick-off and continue until four hours after the final whistle.

On match days only, an Atlantic seaboard bus service is to run from Hout Bay through Camps Bay and Sea Point from four hours before kick-off until 2am. Prices are to be based on distance travelled.

For 24 hours a day throughout the tournament, a shuttle bus will ferry tourists from the Cape Town International Airport to the Hertzog Boulevard hub and back. With a fee of R50 for a one-way trip, the shuttles are to leave every six to 30 minutes, depending on demand.

Also running 24 hours a day - and leaving every 10 to 30 minutes - is to be a bus service, costing R8 a trip, on an inner-city route.

The buses are to travel from the Hertzog hub along DF Malan, Table Bay Boulevard, Heerengracht, Coen Steytler, Long and Loop, Buitensingel, Orange, Buitenkant, Darling, Oswald Pirow and back to Hertzog Boulevard.

The aim of the inner-city route is to give good access to city hotels and other accommodation, as well as restaurants, bars and parking areas.

Another shuttle route on which buses are to run until 2am throughout the event is to take tourists from the main hub to Queens Beach, Sea Point, by way of the V&A Waterfront.

 

[capetownguy]

It is intended that the Metrorail trains will be the backbone of public transport servicing the broader Cape Town area, particularly the public viewing areas at the Bellville Velodrome, Athlone Civic Centre, OR Tambo Sports Hall in Khayelitsha, and Swartklip Sport Hall in Mitchells Plain.

Twenty-five stations are to function as park-and-ride centres, as are UCT, Kronendal Primary in Hout Bay, and Camps Bay High School.

These are to provide more than 7 000 parking bays with security.

The main park-and-ride stations are Fish Hoek, Retreat, Claremont, Century City, GrandWest Casino, Oostersee, Brackenfell, Kuils River and Strand.

According to the plan, no general spectator parking is to be available at the stadium, while parking in the city centre will be severely limited.

Wheelchair users will be accommodated from the airport to the stadium and Hertzog hub. Shuttle stations are to be wheelchair-friendly.

City officials have urged people to see www.capetown.gov.za or call 0800 656 463 for more information.

 

[rph72]

It is intended that the Metrorail trains will be the backbone of public transport servicing the broader Cape Town area, particularly the public viewing areas at the Bellville Velodrome, Athlone Civic Centre, OR Tambo Sports Hall in Khayelitsha, and Swartklip Sport Hall in Mitchells Plain.

Twenty-five stations are to function as park-and-ride centres, as are UCT, Kronendal Primary in Hout Bay, and Camps Bay High School.

These are to provide more than 7 000 parking bays with security.

The main park-and-ride stations are Fish Hoek, Retreat, Claremont, Century City, GrandWest Casino, Oostersee, Brackenfell, Kuils River and Strand.

According to the plan, no general spectator parking is to be available at the stadium, while parking in the city centre will be severely limited.

Wheelchair users will be accommodated from the airport to the stadium and Hertzog hub. Shuttle stations are to be wheelchair-friendly.

City officials have urged people to see www.capetown.gov.za or call 0800 656 463 for more information.

HA HA HA Metrorail is the biggest joke there is. An utter failure!!!! Mark my words.

 

[capetownguy]

I don't understand why the following services for match days at stations cannot be a permanent thing? Why does the City of Cape Town have to provided these services?

Major Stations:


Oosterzee
Goodwood
Ottery
Century City
Claremont
Kuilsriver
Fish Hoek
Retreat
Strand
Brackenfell

Minor Stations:

Khayelitsha
Kraaifontein
Monte Vista
Lansdowne
Muizenberg
Plumstead
Philippi
Langa
Heideveld
Nyanga
Eersteriver


Minor Station services:

Safety & Security
Lighting
Event branding
Feeder services - last mile home
Existing safe parking
Legacy Signage
Traders / Vendors
Site management: Waste & Cleansing

Major stations will have the additional services:

Event Signage
Information desks
Additional ticketing outlet
Tourism pick-up and drop-off
Additional safe parking
Additional staff / volunteers
NMT Facilities
Arts & Culture (??)







For test events at Cape Town stadium, trains had security on board and at Cape Town station and on platforms.

 

[capetownguy]

IRT station outside Cape Town Stadium:

http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/FIFA2010/Newsandmedia/PublishingImages/stad_23apr_b.jpg

 

[Hosehead]

Where are the pedestrian crossings to/ from that station?

 

[capetownguy]

You exit and enter directly from the below the circle and walk up a ramp into the station.

There are pedestrian crossing using Somerset or Portswood, where there are robots but its probably much safer to avoid cars and walk under the circle

 

[Hosehead]

You exit and enter directly from the below the circle and walk up a ramp into the station.

There are pedestrian crossing using Somerset or Portswood, where there are robots but its probably much safer to avoid cars and walk under the circle

What I mean is that thousands of people will be already walking from town (CBD) over the new pedestrian bridges which bring them along Somerset Road then how do they safely cross somerset to the circle to get to the stadium or to take an IRT? Or what about those leaving the stadium and wanting to walk back to town along somerset? or visiting the bars and eateries on somerset? How many pedestrian crossings will accommodate all those people? 2? Watch the traffic snarl right up.

 

[capetownguy]

Walking along the Fan Walk on Somerset Road, the road will be closed during match days. The paved area leads directly into the circle, so from Somerset you turn right into the circle.

When leaving the stadium you move under the circle, and back onto the Fan Walk which is a closed road, or under the circle to the IRT station.

Any areas of conflict e.g. V&A entrance from the CTICC, after crossing the bridge will have monitored crossings.

 

[capetownguy]

 

[capetownguy]

Somerset Road: pavement widening and stadium approach

Follow the path above and you end up here, and then walk below the circle

 

[capetownguy]

Cape Town gets smart

Cape Town will be one of the first cities in the world to use a large-scale automatic fare payment system for its new public transport service based on contactless debit and credit cards issued by South African banks.

This ‘smart card’ system will be an integral part of the city’s new Integrated Rapid Transit (IRT) network when it is launched around the end of 2010. Its open access makes it a significant upgrade from the closed proprietary technology based payment systems used for public transport in other major international cities.

The first major difference will be that the cards used in the IRT system will be compatible with the point of sale (POS) devices that can be found in most shops, allowing them to be easily loaded with credit, or even used to pay for goods and services.

The second important factor will be that the cards can be branded and issued by any institution that issues payment cards that conform to the specifications of MasterCard Worldwide and Visa International, including, for example chain stores. The only difference is that the cards used on the IRT will also have a special piece of electronic data added to them. This standardised data structure has been created by the National Department of Transport and will be freely available for integration onto all cards.

The cards will have all the usual functionality and benefits of an electronic payment system making it easy for large numbers of people to move very quickly in and out of the IRT system through stations, providing better security for operators and users, providing detailed data on passenger movements and significantly reducing the cost of handling transactions. They also allow for distance-related fares, with users tapping their card each time they enter or leave a station and only being charged when they leave the system altogether.

But on top of these standard features the system in Cape Town will have a number of added advantages that arise from not using a proprietary, closed system.

To begin with, it will make banks responsible for handling all of the financial risk associated with the system, and updating the data security of the cards, which means that the system will never go out of date. In return for this, the banks will earn a small amount from the City for each transaction, which will still be much lower than the costs of handling cash.

The second advantage will be interoperability with all modes of public transport, no matter who the operator is, together with a host of additional services, for example parking, road tolls and bicycle hire. The system will eventually be deployed at all major public transport systems in the country, which will be very useful for tourists, and people travelling between cities.

But because the payment cards are actually simplified bank accounts and can be used in any shop, they will have an impact beyond transport. For some Capetonians, especially youth, their smart card will be their first ever bank account, and provide an important introduction to the country’s banking system.

The cards will be sold at a wide variety of outlets, with the City aiming to get as many cards into use as possible. Although it will be possible to get a card that is directly linked to a normal bank account, most cards will be sold on their own, without needing to sign any forms. Currently, the cost of a new card is around R22, but this may be subsidised, for example through advertising. While people will still be able to use cash, there will be cost penalties for this.

Although Johannesburg has also begun preparations to launch the new smart card system in their Rea Vaya BRT system, Cape Town’s IRT is set to be the first city in South Africa where it will be used. The consultants working with the City of Cape Town are the same people working with the National Department of Transport on preparing the national implementation of the system and have made enough progress in their preparations to launch it at the same time as a full IRT service begins operating, although paper tickets will still be used as an interim measure during the FIFA World Cup™.

Martin Pollack

2010/04/29

 

[capetownguy]

 

[capetownguy]

 

[medicnick83]

Why the hell ruin the pics with "sportzpics"

 

[capetownguy]

That the website I took them from! Probably get sued for sharing them here!

 

[capetownguy]

Tick Tock. Looks like they will start paving soon. That guy has a ground flattening machine is his hands.

 

[capetownguy]

Siyajikeleza, Laat Wiel, Going Places

At the invitation of the City of Cape Town, I went for a ride on one of the new Integrated Rapid Transit (IRT) buses today to view three of the stations that have recently been completed: Civic Centre, CT Airport and Cape Town Stadium. It was exciting experience, as it is now possible to start to imagine what it would be like to live in a city where all communities are connected by a public transport system of equal quality.
One of the highlights of the trip was the public art that is in the process of being installed at the stations. I understand that investing in public art as part of IRT was not always an easy sell within the City’s project team, due to tight budgets and competing priorities. For me, however, it is what is going to distinguish the future IRT system from any other transport system – the fact that parts of the history and memory of Cape Town are being so beautifully inscribed in the new public places.
Celebrating the World Cup on one of the mosaic murals that decorate the passage from the IRT station to the pedestrian underpass in Green Point

The good news is that the airport shuttle service will launch on Saturday 29 May 2010 and the transport arrangements for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which will utilise part of the IRT system, will be ready. The better news is that the IRT system, which has been branded MYCiTi, carries within it the real possibility of developing Cape Town differently over the next decade. For example, as soon as the ‘thin red lines’ of the IRT pass through the empty but well-located Culemborg area, it will raise the question as to why this part of the city is not being used for mixed use development, including affordable housing.
More broadly, it will help focus the debate on the need for a more compact city, with appropriate densification along all public transport routes. As Councillor Thompson, Mayoral Committee member for Transport says: “As the IRT rolls out across Cape Town in the coming years, it aims to be much more than a transport system. It must give citizens a sense of control, ownership, greater choice, mobility and access to opportunities.”
Inside the new station in Hertzog Boulevard, between the Civic Centre and Artscape

The artist is present: Sue Williamson's sand-blasted glass mural under construction at the CT Airport station

Inside the main station in Green Point

Showing the alignment of the bus with the station doors and raised platform

Green Point Common - where football was first played in South Africa in 1868

Celebrating over a century of the Cape Minstrels


For more details on the IRT project, you can upload the latest report to Council here