George Executive Mayor, Alderman Melvin Naik, congratulated the project partners in this “challenging, but most rewarding public mobility project”.
“I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate two years of service to the communities of George, than opening the very convenient and modern transport hub facilities to our people on Thursday!
The Municipality is committed to address any challenges to make this dream of safe and affordable public transport come true for all our communities.”
Naik also pointed out that the Civil Engineering Department has been very busy upgrading infrastructure to accommodate the remaining phases of the bus service, and will continue to do so.
According to Harold Basson, Director of Civil Engineering Services at the George Municipality, 99 bus stops as well as transfer stations in Thembalethu have been completed, as well as considerable upgrading to the roads and intersections in that area.
“We are also pleased to say that the installation of the first 30 permanent bus shelters on the current routes have been completed, and then of course we are extremely proud of the magnificent new transport hub that will be an under-cover service centre for the convenience of our passengers,” he said.
GO GEORGE Manager, James Robb, says the first two years of establishing a service of this magnitude have posed some challenges, “but when looking back on what we have achieved and the extent to which George residents embrace this project, we are deeply grateful for how far we have come. Municipalities in the rest of the country take note our challenges and achievements and increasingly request to visit George on study tours to learn from our experience.”
• ticket sales growing by 11% from this time last year, with an average of about 12 500 tickets being sold daily (weekday and weekend figures will differ)
• tripling the number of ticket vendors selling GO GEORGE tickets off-bus, including home shops and mobile ticket vendors walking about waiting passengers at bus stops to sell tickets, contributing to the Municipality’s vision of local economic empowerment;
• installation of 30 permanent bus shelters;
• introducing Georgie, the bus service’s popular mascot;
• next-level training for bus drivers in providing an accessible transport service to the disabled;
• implementing express trips and routes to improve peak time service, and
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