Commuters in Gauteng could finally this year use a single public transport card across different modes, according to premier David Makhura.
In his state of the province address delivered in the Gauteng legislature yesterday, Makhura said the now established Gauteng Transport Authority has to deliver on realising this dream.
The promise of an integrated public transport with a single ticketing system across all modes has been made repeatedly in the past but with no sign of implementation.
“I am confident that by end of this year, we will have a single ticket that can be used for different transport modes in Gauteng. One of the immediate results of the Gauteng Transport Authority is to ensure that you can use one ticket to utilise bus services, train services…” Makhura said.
The aim of a single ticket system is to integrate the payment platforms among different modes of transport, enabling commuters to load cash in just one card and use it for bus services, trains and taxis.
The Gauteng Transport Authority was established to enable integration of transport planning and infrastructure in the province.
Makhura also announced that the government will still go ahead with the expansion of the Gautrain network. However, the production of new coaches has been discontinued due to low passenger demand caused by the pandemic.
In his speech, Makhura said the priorities for the provincial government will be to defeat Covid-19, rebuild the economy and improve governance.
About 400,000 people have contracted Covid-19 in Gauteng and close to 10,000 have died of Covid-19 related illness.
Gauteng intends vaccinating 10.4m people and the province has already received 16, 800 Johnson & Johnson doses for the trial phase, which will be given to health workers first.
He urged the public to embrace the vaccine as it is one of the most effective ways to end the pandemic. “Vaccines do save lives. We must dismiss all these conspiracy theories…As we approach winter we must ensure that the risky sections of the population are vaccinated after we are done with the health workers,” Makhura said.
Gauteng intends vaccinating 10.4m people to reach herd immunity. To help rebuild the economy which shed 500,000 jobs, the province has also allocated 917 maintenance projects worth R598m to township-based businesses. Another 154 township-based small businesses are subcontracted to infrastructure projects to the value of R131m.
Makhura said the provincial government would continue utilising special economic zones to attract investment and grow small to medium enterprises.
The impact of this approach was seen in the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone. This zone attracted R15.8bn investment by Ford. This investment will help create 1,200 incremental Ford jobs and add an estimated 10,000 new jobs across the company's local supplier network.
Makhura said plans are waiting approval for similar economic zones focusing on other sectors of the economy in Ekurhuleni, Vaal and the West Rand.
In addressing gender-based violence (GBV), Makhura said the province has recruited 620 GBV brigades who raise awareness in communities and also assist victims to open cases, and break free from abusive relationships. A total of 40,000 households have been visited by the brigades for psycho-social support.
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