Rea Vaya (which means "we are going" in

Scamto Also known as ' tsotsi taal' or 'township talk', scamto is a new youth language that has formed in South Africa. Spoken usually only by the youth, scamto comprises a mix of many languages. Some of the languages include Afrikaans, Sotho, Zulu, Engl ...

) is a

bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

system operating in

Johannesburg, South Africa Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

. It opened in phases starting on 30 August 2009. Rea Vaya links the

Johannesburg CBD The Central Business District, commonly called Johannesburg CBD, is one of the main business centres of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the densest collection of skyscrapers in Africa, however, due to white flight and urban blight, many of the b ...

and

Braamfontein Braamfontein (English: ''blackberry spring'', or more prosaicly ''blackberry springs''; also known as Braam) is a central suburb of Johannesburg, in South Africa, seat of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and some of South Africa's major c ...

with

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

. It is currently expanding towards Sandton, Rosebank and Midrand as well. It is one of the first bus rapid transit systems in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Routes

Rea Vaya routes are divided into three classifications: trunk routes on the main highways and between major destinations; complementary routes running on circular routes that connect to trunks; and feeder routes that radiate out from trunk routes to outlying suburbs. the following routes are in operation: Trunk routes: * T1:

Thokoza Thokoza, formerly Tokoza, is a township in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. Thokoza is at the location of the now-defunct Palmietfontein Airport. It is situated south east of Alberton, adjacent to Katlehong. Thokoza was the first black township which was es ...

Park (Soweto) to Johannesburg CBD and Ellis Park East (

Doornfontein Doornfontein is an Suburbs of Johannesburg, inner-city suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, located to the east of the city centre, Region 8 (Johannesburg), Region 8. History The area, whose name means "thorn fountain", was originally the southe ...

) * T2: Thokoza Park to Ellis Park East via Civic Centre (Braamfontein) * T3: Thokoza Park to Parktown and Library Gardens East Complementary routes: * C1:

Dobsonville Dobsonville is an suburb in Soweto. Description The first shopping centre in Soweto, Dobsonville Shopping Centre, is located in Dobsonville. It has many small suburbs within it, namely extensions 1, 2 and 3, Mmesi Park, Snake Park (Thulani) and m ...

(Soweto) to CBD and Ellis Park East * C2: Dobsonville to

Maponya Mall Maponya Mall is a shopping centre in Soweto, Pimville, South Africa. The 65,000 square-metre development cost R650m to build and officially opened in September 2007. The mall was owned by South African entrepreneur and property developer Richard ...

* C3: Inner City Loop - Chancellor House to

Johannesburg Art Gallery The Johannesburg Art Gallery is an art gallery in Joubert Park in the city centre of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the largest gallery on the continent with a collection that is larger than that of the Iziko South African National Gallery i ...

* C4: Windsor West and Cresta to Parktown and Inner City * C5: Florida North to Parktown and Library Gardens * C6: Meadowlands to Millpark Feeder routes in Soweto and adjacent areas: * F1: Naledi to Thokoza Park to CBD * F2:

Protea Glen Protea Glen is a township of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa, located north of Lenasia and west of Soweto. The suburb was developed in the 1990s for middle-class residents.(5 June 2013)As the Black Middle Class Grows In S. Africa, S ...

to Thokoza Park to CBD * F3: Jabavu to Lake View to CBD * F4: Mofolo to Boomtown to CBD * F5: Eldorado Park to Lake View to CBD * F6: Lea Glen to Bosmont * F7: Amalgam to Bosmont Station * F8: Westbury Station to Greymont * F9: Mapetla to Thokoza Park * F10: Pimville to Lakeview * F11: Bellevue/Yeoville to City * F12: Parktown distribution route Official Rea Vaya Route Map

Strike action

As of February 2014, there have been three strikes which have disrupted service of the transit system.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
Transport in Johannesburg Bus rapid transit in Africa Rapid transit in South Africa