Unlike some of its siblings such as Pikitup, the Metrobus service seems to be willing to improve for the sake of service delivery.
This comes in the wake of constant complaints from the public and a Record video exposé on the service entity that could not be ignored.
Metrobus has announced that they have issued a tender to purchase between 125 and 175 new buses.
“We are very excited to tell our passengers and the residents of Joburg that we will be able to replace more than a third of our aging fleet with modern, low-floor and dual-fuel ‘green’ buses,” says acting Managing Director of Metrobus, Lawrence Maqekoane.
“These buses will advance the City’s low carbon economy agenda and fuel job creation,” he adds.
Tenders will be required to maximise local content thereby creating local jobs.
Furthermore the buses have been specified to run on biogas and diesel. This decision was made in the light of research that has identified the enormous potential for the production of biogas from city waste sources such as landfill sites.
Metrobus also will revamp its fare collection system by modernising it.
“We want to make sure that when the new buses arrive, they are reliable and be part of the City’s offering of quality, affordable public transport,” says Maqekoane.
It is also envisaged that the new buses will operate at higher frequencies and operate for longer hours along a number of key public transport corridors.
