Update
GEORGE NEWS - The next set of routes of the GO GEORGE bus service will be activated on Sunday 28 April. George Municipality, in partnership with the Western Cape Government, announced that GO GEORGE buses will start operating on routes to Conville, Parkdene, Ballotsview, Borcherds and Lawaaikamp, constituting Phase 4B of the planned network of routes.
The first trial phase of the GO GEORGE bus service was launched on 8 December 2014, with two more routes rolled out in the following months. It's been almost four years since the first trial run for the extension of the service to Thembalethu ended badly with buses being set alight in August 2015.
In a press release by George Municipality, it is stated that concerted efforts have been made to roll out in Thembalehtu (Phase 4A) first. Engagement with all relevant stakeholders in Thembalethu regarding the roll-out of Phase 4A was unsuccessful, thus the due date of April 2019 for the roll-out of Phase 4A could not be met as requested by the National Department of Transport.
Council earlier resolved that Phase 4 will be rolled out by June 2019, and if it is not possible to roll out the bus service in Thembalethu (Phase 4A), Phase 4B must be rolled out.
When making the announcement, George Mayor Melvin Naik called upon all stakeholders to make a concerted effort to have a peaceful roll-out. "We must pull all our resources and make a success of this roll-out," he said.
"We want to get to all the other areas within the George municipal boundaries, but Council's decision is to roll out to Phase 4B now. In the meantime, efforts to get Phase 4A (Thembalethu) ready, will continue."
Naik also said that it has taken much longer than the municipality had originally planned to get to this phase. "Behind the scenes, we were actively planning and designing and going back to the drawing board all the time. We want to thank the people of these suburbs for their patience. Very soon, they too will have a scheduled and affordable public transport system operating 16 hours a day so that they can explore and reach more parts of our city for work, school, health services, business or recreation. The opportunities that this kind of access can unlock, are endless."
Four routes
The four routes will cover Parkdene - CBD, Parkdene - Garden Route Mall, Parkdene - Blanco, and a comprehensive community route crisscrossing through the streets of Conville, Parkdene, Ballotsview, Lawaaikamp and Borcherds. This will connect these neighbourhoods with existing GO GEORGE routes operating in and between the CBD, Pacaltsdorp, Denneoord, Loerie Park, Rosemoor, Blanco, Heatherlands, Heather Park and the Garden Route Mall.
Community engagement
Early in April, the GO GEORGE team of Communication Champions will start moving into the Phase 4B area, handing out printed information about the bus service from door to door and explaining how the system works. The handy route guide will enable prospective passengers to plan their routes and trips. The GO GEORGE communications team will also visit schools, clinics, libraries and central places of gathering to reach larger groups with this information.
Contact GO GEORGE by phoning the call centre on 0800 044 044, via e-mail (info@gogeorge.org.za), or like the GO GEORGE Facebook page to stay up to date with developments.
Read a previous article: GO GEORGE gereed om volgende fase uit te rol
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