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Preparations for bus service to Thembalethu visible all over town

Posters at bus stops in town welcoming Thembalethu passengers; bus stops and operational facilities inside Thembalethu nearing completion; communication champions engaging with prospective passengers … These are but some of the visible signs that GO GEORGE is getting ready to roll out service to this community. Thembalethu has been waiting eagerly to share in the benefits of an affordable and scheduled bus service.

“We realise that Thembalethu residents have been disappointed before when we tried to roll out bus services to this area,” said Morné Lakay, Acting Manager of GO GEORGE. “This time, we are determinedly pushing through, even though it is taking a little bit longer than planned. It is heart-warming to hear from our engagement with Thembalethu residents, how much they are looking forward to having access to our service and the convenience and savings it will bring.”

Infrastructure

As with all previous roll-outs to other areas of town, the service to Thembalethu will launch with the infrastructure needed to roll out smoothly. This will be expanded as user patterns and passenger needs become clear once they start using the service.

To date, 11 indented bays in Nelson Mandela Boulevard and 129 bus stops for use by the Thembalethu routes have already been constructed. A limited number of bus shelters will initially be erected, just in time for roll-out.

According to Lakay, bus shelters all over the system are placed at stops where the most passengers wait to board a bus. “Since we first need to monitor user patterns after activation of the service to an area, we start out with temporary shelters and follow up with the permanent shelters which are quite costly to manufacture and install. This is not the kind of structure we would like to move.”

Information about the Thembalethu service

The GO GEORGE communications team has ben visiting businesses and organisations all over town to engage with staff residing in Thembalethu. Anyone who would like to request an informational visit to their staff can call the GO GEORGE Call Centre on 0800 044 044 from 05:00 until 20:00, seven days a week.