Also on the cards is the signing of the individual compensation agreements for the various representatives of the George taxi industry, said Harold Basson, director of the Department of Civil Engineering for George Municipality.
This information was shared with the George Council during a three hour presentation at a special meeting last Thursday.
An impressive overview of the whole GO GEORGE project was led by various consultants, representatives of George Municipality's Department of Civil Engineering and the Provincial Department of Transport and Public Works.
A bird's-eye view of the project's deve-lopment over nine years was presented by Deidre Ribbonaar, the senior manager of transport policy and strategy for the Provincial Department of Transport and Public Works.
Ribbonaar explained why the project took so long to reach this final stage, describing it "a first" in many ways.
"Everybody is working on GO GEORGE on top of their many other duties. There is no specific dedicated team that only concentrates on this project," she said.
The project is the first of its kind that includes all three spheres of government: provincial, national and local. The process where taxi drivers were given the opportunity to buy into the operating company George Link is also quite complicated and negotiations took time, she said.
"It is a complete change in the way the taxi industry does business. They are taking a chance with Government," said Ribbonaar.
Other speakers included Dr Wayne Duff-Riddell, a technical director of Aurecon, a consultant agency for transport services, as well as Jacques Quinot and Lindsay Mooiman, both of the Department of Civil Engineering for George Municipality.
Duff-Riddell confirmed that there is a commitment from all parties to roll out the project on 1 December, starting in Loerie Park, Rosemoor and Denneoord. Early in January the routes will include Blanco and Heather Park, with Pacaltsdorp, Rosedale and George Industria in March. From April citizens should be able to take a bus from Thembalethu and Ballotsview, while rides to Wilderness, Kleinkrantz and Victoria Bay will be included from May.
The process almost ground to a halt in May with the killing of Tom Queba, the chief negotiator for the taxi industry, but the various role players managed to take hands preventing the derailing of the project. A suspect from Thembalethu, Zanemale Laho, was arrested in June and is currently in jail. He will reappear in court on 3 October.
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Peter Wortmann (left), of Mitchell Du Plessis Associates (professional project management services), and Dr Wayne Duff-Riddell, a technical director of Aurecon Transport Services.
ARTICLE: MICHELLE PIENAAR, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST
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