Johannesburg, South Africa

• Rea Vaya is the BRT network in Johannesburg. Phase 1A is operational, linking the township of Soweto to the CBD. Phase 1B is under construction and expected to be operational during 2012. Rea Vaya is developed by City of Johannesburg.
• The Rea Vaya network consists of Trunk Routes that operate exclusively on the BRT running way, Complementary routes that operate both on and off the BRT running way, and Feeder Routes that bring passengers to the BRT for transfer.
• A new Bus Operating company (PioTrans) has been formed, whose shareholders are from the minibus taxi owners displaced by the Rea Vaya services. City of Johannesburg has entered a 12-year bus service operating contract with PioTrans, who are paid a per-kilometre fee for the provided services.
• A comprehensive, integrated ITS program supports Rea Vaya BRT.  This consists of GPS-based AVM, operations control centre, traveller information, CCTV for security and station management, scheduling package, traffic signal priority, and fare collection.
• By end-2011, the AVM, Operations Control Centre, CCTV and scheduling systems are fully operational. The traveller information system and traffic signal priority systems are expected to come on-stream during 2012-3.
• An Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) system  has been procured and is currently under deployment (operational by end-February 2012). The AFC is based on EMV smart cards. Value-loading will take place at stations, vendors and banks.
• The vehicle to control centre communications takes place over the local GSM network, while the stations and their devices use fibre optic cable.

Scope of the Case Study

This case study deals with the ITS systems implemented for Rea Vaya, the BRT system implemented by the City of Johannesburg.  The Case Study covers both the ITS systems which have already been implemented and those which are currently under implementation. This case study considers the current interim fare collection system and the Automatic Fare Collection system to be deployed during 2011-2 from the viewpoint of the technology only. For other aspects of fare collection and pricing, please see the Case Study in the Fare Collection Toolkit.

The Case Study not cover any ITS implemented at the other public and commuter bus operators in the Johannesburg area (Metrobus and Putco), nor of the commuter rail network or Gautrain.

Context

Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa. It has a population of 3.8 million people in an area of 1645 square kilometres. Johannesburg is a major economic hub for both South Africa itself and for the African continent.

The spatial and population distribution of Johannesburg is a legacy of the apartheid era. This still has profound effects on the distribution of activities, the travel patterns and the nature of the transport services. In addition to the legacy distribution of population by ethnic group, which is still quite pronounced, there are three distinct features of the city which influence travel patterns and transportation supply:

• While Johannesburg’s Central Business District remains a high-rise, dense focal point of activity, much of the wealth and prime activity relocated in the post-apartheid era. The CBD is no longer the sole focal point for business, and has low levels of social activity or attractions outside of business hours.
• The north and north-eastern suburbs have developed significantly, both as an alternative investment location to the CBD in areas such as Sandton, and with the extensive development of middle-class suburbs and gated communities. These areas are heavily auto-oriented.
• The apartheid-era townships (in particular Soweto) were designed to locate the black population at a significant distance from the predominantly-white urban centre. Only those with passes were allowed to enter these areas, mostly for work, and to then return to the townships in the evening. On one hand, this meant that transportation links between the townships were provided entirely for the daily commute; on the other, it meant that there was virtually no pattern of non-work travel between the suburban areas and the city centre, nor transportation services to facilitate this. While much has changed in recent years and townships such as Soweto have experienced significant improvement in quality and opportunities, the embedded travel patterns persist. One of the key objectives of the Rea Vaya BRT has been to overcome the transportation links imbalance.

Public transport in Johannesburg consists of the following:

• Commuter Rail services
• Urban Bus services
• Minibus taxi services
• Rea Vaya BRT
• Express Urban rail (Gautrain)

Total daily movements are approximately 3.5 million trips. About 47% of these trips are made by public transport, and 53% by private transport. This places considerable strain on the roads network and leads to congestion and delays. Of the 47% public transport mode share, the internal split is estimated as:

72% Minibus-taxi

14% Rail

 9% Bus

South Africa hosted the football World Cup in 2010. Johannesburg was the venue for two of the tournament stadia (Ellis Park, Soccer City) and a third stadium (Orlando) was used for the opening ceremony. The first trunk line of the Rea Vaya BRT was implemented to provide transportation linkages to/from the football venues. However, it was designed to provide a useful post-event legacy, and it forms the first phase of a broader transportation network for Johannesburg.

Passenger transport within and to/from the townships has traditionally been provided by the minibus-taxi sector. A major restructuring has been necessary (described below) in which impacted sectors of the minibus-taxi have formed the Operator of the Rea Vaya bus services. This was a long and difficult process, as it cuts across many other issues and interests of the minibus-taxi sector, who have reacted strongly from time to time.

Rea Vaya BRT

The BRT originated in the Strategic Public Transport Network planning (STPN) of 2003. The concept was to establish core trunk routes onto which the bus routes could be channeled and taxi services would provide feeder connections.

The feasibility study for BRT in Johannesburg was carried out during 2006. The City of Johannesburg Council approved Phase 1 of the BRT in November 2006, and the detailed Phase 1B in November 2008. Capital expenditure on Phase 1A has been R2.5 billion, capital expenditure on Phase 1B is expected to be R3.5 billion.

Phase 1 is foreseen to consist of the following capacity:

Phase 1A:

• 25 kilometres BRT, 30 stations
• 143 buses (41 articulated on Trunk route, 102 standard on Complementary routes)
• 45,000 passengers/day
• One new Bus Operating Company

Phase 1B (including phase 1A)

• 63 kilometres BRT
• 640 buses
• Additional Bus Operating Company

Phase 1C (including Phases 1A, 1B)

• 122 kilometres BRT
• 805 buses

Phase 1A construction commenced in the CBD in October 2007 and works continued through 2008-9. In parallel, negotiations were underway with the minibus-taxi sector to establish the basis on which the BRT would operate, and the structure for the taxi stakeholders to participate. 143 Scania buses were ordered and delivered during 2009.

The first BRT Trunk Route of Phase 1A commenced operation on 30^th August 2009, with the first Complimentary and Feeder Routes being introduced in Mach 2010 and additional routes introduced in May 2011 ahead of the World Cup in June/July 2010.

The BRT system was given the name ‘Rea Vaya’, which translates as “we are moving”.

Phase 1B construction commenced in 2010 and is expected to be operational during 2012. The initial implementation is expected to involve an additional 150 buses. Phase 1B connects significant industrial, health and educational institutions to both Soweto (Phase 1A terminus) and the CBD, and links with the Phase 1A BRT at two locations to facilitate transfer between the two Trunk lines.  

The implementation of Phase 1B will have more significant implication for transfers, and hence also for the fare collection system. In addition to the transfers with the Phase 1A Trunk Line, there will also be transfer opportunities with PUTCO routes, with Guatrain, and with additional taxi routes.

Future phases of Rea Vaya will extend the network both north/north-east to Sandton, link Alexandra and Sandton, and also to the south of the city, with construction foreseen during 2013-2018. The long-term objective is that 85% of Johannesburg’s population will be within 500 meters of a Rea Vaya Trunk or Feeder service.

Rea Vaya Transport services

The Rea Vaya network consists of three service types:

• Trunk lines – only use the BRT running way
• Complementary Routes – collect passengers and then use the running way
• Feeder Routes – collect passengers and transfer

Currently the following services are in place:

Trunk Line 1 (T1): Thokoza Park to Ellis Park East – 20 stops each way

T1 is the primary BRT route and provides the backbone of the Rea Vaya system.

Complementary Line 1 (C1):  Dobsonville to Ellis Park East - 28 stops

Complementary Line 3 (C3): CBD Circular Service – 13 stops 

The Complementary lines connect with T1 in different ways:

C1 operates a cross-city service. It joins T1 and operates along the BRT alignment from Orlando Stadium to Carlton, and again connects with T1 at the eastern terminal at Ellis Park East.

C3 is a CBD distributor service whose two terminals are at T1 stations – Chancellor House and Johannesburg Art Gallery

Feeder Route 1 (F1): Thokoza Park to Naledi -  14 stops

Feeder Route 2 (F2): Protea Glen via Thokoza Park Station – 20 stops

Feeder Route 3 (F3): Lakeview to Jabavu – 7 stops

Feeder Route 4 (F4): Boomtown to Mofolo – 8 stops

Feeder Route 5 (F5): Eldorado Park to Lakeview – 9 stops

Currently all 5 feeder routes are in the Soweto end of the routes, connecting with T1 at Thokoza Park (F1, F2), Lakeview (F3, F5) and Boomtown (F4). 

Service Hours and Frequencies

Current service parameters are:

Route	First Bus	Last Bus	Peak interval (mins)	Off-peak interval (mins)	Sunday intervals (mins)
T1	0450	2100	5	16	20-30
C1	0500	2100	5	16	5-15
C3	0600	2030	15	20	15-30
F1	0500	2200	5	30	20
F2	0500	2200	5	30	20
F3	0500	2200	15	30	20
F4	0500	2200	15	30	20
F5	0500	2200	15	30	30

Performance metrics

Rea Vaya is on a growth curve, and will continue to grow in the coming years as additional Trunk lines are opened, along with associated Complementary and Feeder routes. In the initial years, as there is gradual adaptation of travel patterns and take-up of the Rea Vaya services, ridership and service levels will be below system capacity. The performance metrics provided here are simply for reference, and are likely to be quickly surpassed.

Data for September 2010 includes:

• 34,000 passengers/day (11,800 in first month)
• 1,100 bus trips/day
• 18,500 kilometres operated/day
• 143 buses (41 articulated, 102 complementary)
• PVR of 38 articulated and 80 complementary buses
• 30 Rea Vaya stations in service
• 1,000 permanent employees across the Rea Vaya services

During the World Cup, Rea Vaya transported 307,000 passengers, and cleared stadium stations well ahead of the FIFA benchmark times.

Institutional Framework

The City of Johannesburg is the principal authority for public transport in Johannesburg. The Mayor’s office provides the administration for the city. Direction and oversight of passenger transportation, including of the Rea Vaya system, are provided by the Mayoral Committee for Transport.

The Transportation Department oversees all public transport infrastructure and facilities, as well as general traffic management ad enforcement.

The City of Johannesburg owns Metrobus, the main urban bus operator.  Putco is a privately owned enterprise.

The City of Johannesburg is the ultimate owner of the Rea Vaya system, being the owner of the infrastructure and the Client for the transport and support services, which are provided under contract.

National Government provides infrastructure and systems funding, in particular for the additional system requirements for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. About R2.5 billion has been provided during 2006-2010 through the PTIS fund.

The City funds operations from the ratepayers. However, this funding source has reduced due to the economic downturn. In response, the City is exploring non-residential parking levies, portions of fuel levies, and PPP opportunities.

Rea Vaya Business Unit

The City of Johannesburg has established a Rea Vaya Business Unit. The Business Unit is responsible for the organization and delivery of the Rea Vaya system and services. It has both specialist and administrative capacity. 

The Business Unit carries out the service design, quality control, and organization of the control room. It specifies the service to be operated by the Bus Operating Company. It also does development and implementation of the ITS and Fare Collection systems.

The Business Unit outsources all of the operational aspects through a series of Contracts, which it then manages. These contracts include the bus operation contract, the station management contract, and a number of contracts relating to the fare collection. The Business Unit monitors and enforces quality of service delivery as specified in these contracts, and enforces penalties. 

Operator Structure

Public Bus Operators

Municipal public bus operations in Johannesburg have been provided by Metrobus, the municipal-owned operator. Metrobus operates about 530 buses on 80 scheduled bus routes and 130 school routes. Their ridership is about 90,000 per day. Metrobus traditionally served the white areas of Johannesburg, and did not operate into the townships such as Soweto. The taxi associations made it exceedingly clear that they would not accept expansion by Metrobus into these areas.

PUTCO provides commuter bus services in Gauteng, Limpopo and other adjacent areas. It serves the main townships in the Johannesburg area, and was traditionally the provider of bus services for the black communities. PUTCO currently has about 1,800 buses and carries 230,000 passengers daily.

Minibus Taxi Operators

Minibus taxis are the most widely-used form of public transportation. In part, this reflects the legacy of segregated bus services that primarily served only the commuter requirements, and did not provide much opportunity for people to travel for other purposes, or to travel locally. Vehicles are normally approximately 15-seaters, many of which are in relatively poor condition (albeit significantly better than in many other African countries) and are often driven quite recklessly by drivers competing for passengers.

The minibus-taxi sector is formed as Taxi Associations. The Taxi Associations affiliate to larger organizations. Top Six and GJRTC, who are participants in Phase 1A BOC, have 106 affiliated Taxi Associations.

Urban Rail Operator

Gautrain is an urban rail system which is currently under development. The total investment will be 25 billion Rand (c. USD 3.6 billion). Gautrain currently provides a high-speed, limited-stop link between Johannesburg’s main international airport and Sandton. A second line linking Johannesburg and Pretoria was opened in August 2011. This connects with the Airport line at Sandton and another station. 

Gautrain is developing a network of high-quality feeder bus services, operated by Bombela (a subsidiary of RATP). The feeder buses will have the following parameters:

• 150 buses (when all routes are implemented)
• 2,200 bus trips per day
• 26,000 bus-km per day
• 12-30 minutes intervals 

Currently, there is no point of interface with Rea Vaya. This will change in Phase 1B when the new trunk Route will intersect with the Gautrain near the city centre. In subsequent phases, Rea Vaya will extend to Sandton, at which point there will be more significantly intersection and overlap between the Rea Vaya and Gautrain networks. This will drive the requirement for extended transfer and common ticketing.

Formation of the Rea Vaya Phase 1A Bus Operator (Piotrans)

It was determined that the Bus Operator for Phase 1A of Rea Vaya should be formed from the existing minibus-taxi operators. This involved multiple challenges including:

• Identifying which operators should come within the negotiation scope
• Establishing the basis for negotiated agreement
• Assisting the minibus-taxi operators to develop the capacity both for the negotiations and to deliver the services
• Managing the relationships with the rest of the minibus-taxi sector, and avoiding confrontation which could result in violence and even fatalities

The core negotiations were conducted in 2009-10, with agreements reached by August 2010. The main minibus-taxi associations for Phase 1A were GJRTC and Top Six Taxi Association. The negotiation was led by a team of independent facilitators, paid by the city, but agreed to by both parties. The agreements covered the following issues:

• Compensation for loss of income in respect of operators affected by the Rea Vaya Phase 1A roll-out of services.
• Verification process in respect of affected operators in terms of a Participation Framework Agreement
• Bus Operating Contract
• Fee per kilometer and escalation formula, including profit margin for affected operators
• Process of affected operators becoming shareholders in the Bus Operating Company (BOC)
• Process of shareholders taking over the BOC, and of operating the bus services
• Employment of drivers and other employees of affected Operators

It was agreed that up to 585 minibus taxis (out of 1500 affected vehicles) would be removed from routes competing with the Phase 1A services. The owners would be eligible for indirect shareholding in the BOC via one of the nine Taxi Operator Investment Companies (TAICs) in return for removal.

The Rea Vaya service was launched before the formal establishment and handover of the BOC. This required the formation of an interim legal entity which could receive the buses, engage and train the driving and other staff, operate the services, and meet the other services and reporting obligations. This Special Purpose Vehicle (Clidet) was established and ownership was subsequently transferred to the TAICs as per agreement.

In the absence of the BOC, the City of Johannesburg purchased the 143 buses required for Phase 1A of Rea Vaya, and provided the necessary guarantees to the supplier (actually, to the export credit agency) on behalf of the BOC.

The handover of the Bus Operating Company formally took place on 1^st February 2011, and the BOC took the new name ‘Piotrans’. Services operated under this arrangement. However, a lengthy strike in August/September 2011 over drivers’ pay indicates that the transition from minibus-taxi to BRT operator has not been entirely smooth, and there may yet be more issues to be resolved. 

Phase 1B 

A broadly similar process will take place for the Phase 1B. However, it will be more complex as Metrobus and Putco are also involved, as well as 10 taxi associations.

Basis of Service/Route Award

City of Johannesburg took the decision to grant the bus service operation for Phase 1A to a new company which would be formed from and owned by the existing minibus-taxi operators and owners who were affected by the Phase 1A. There was no open procurement process, or individual route award.

A similar process is followed for the subsequent phases.

Permits or Contracts

City of Johannesburg has entered a 12-year contract with the Bus Operating Company (now PioTrans) for the operation of the Rea Vaya bus services.

The scope of responsibility for the Bus Operating Company under the Bus Operating Contract is:

• Own the buses
• Employ and provide drivers and other staff
• Bus maintenance
• Bus washing
• Operate the services to timetable

The contact imposes penalties for quality and service deviations.

Separate contracts have been put in place for the customer-facing services (stations, information, ticketing) and for various support services (station staffing, maintenance, back-office systems). These are described in more detail below.  

The feeder buses for Gautrain are procured privately under the Gautrain concession. They are operated independently of both City of Johannesburg and Rea Vaya. Gautrain must get approval for the individual routes from City of Johannesburg, who assess them to ensure that they do not overlay the complementary routes for Rea Vaya.

Allocation of Revenue and Cost Risks

All revenue risk is carried by the City of Johannesburg. The City also guarantees a minimum level of revenue to the BOC in the form of guaranteed minimum service-kilometres that it will order and pay for.

All bus service cost risks are carried by the Bus Operating Company, subject to the input cost-based mechanisms for tariff review.

All support service cost risks are carried by the relevant contractors.

Financial Flows within the System

Revenues are returned to City of Johannesburg through the ticketing and sales processes.

The Bus Operating Company does not handle any of the revenue. Tickets are not sold on the Rea Vaya buses.

The Bus Operating Company, the Station Management Company (MTC) and the three companies associated with fare collection, tickets and cash collection (TMT, ACE, G4S) are paid through their contracts. These payments are not linked with the revenue or fare collection system. 

The basic financial agreement with the Bus Operating Company is that the City pays a fee to the BOC per kilometre required and operated on the Rea Vaya Trunk and Complementary services. An escalation formula provides for monthly adjustments to the fee, in response to changes to costs.

The negotiated fee structure needed to ensure that the individual shareholders would receive sufficient income for each month of the contract. These shareholders had surrendered minibus-taxis that provided daily income, and many were dependent on this cashflow. The fee rate needed to take account of the fact that Rea Vaya service volumes and ridership would take some time to build up, potentially leaving the BOC and its individual shareholders quite exposed to leaner income in the initial years.

A further factor that needed to be resolved was the potential tax implications arising from the individual shareholders being paid both dividends and monthly income. A solution was reached with the South African Revenue Service.

The purchase of the vehicles was structured such that the funds for the purchase are lent to the BOC. A Debt Service Agreement has been put in place for the payments by BOC in relation to the buses. Linked agreements establish the obligations of the City and the Export Credit Agency to the BOC.

The Debt Service payments are not directly linked to the Fare Collection system, but they are linked to the receipts from the Rea Vaya customer revenues. Revenues from the fare collection system are channeled through a set of accounts that ensure the debt service payments are assured, and also hedged for currency fluctuations.

The BOC does not have to pay for the use of the BRT infrastructure, nor does it have to make any financial contribution to the investment costs.

Applications for which ITS is currently used at Rea Vaya

The ITS systems include:

• AVM including GPS
• Operations Management and monitoring software
• Communications
• VMS (Variable Message Signs) in the buses
• CCTV at stations
• CCTV on vehicles
• Passenger information systems at bus stations
• DIVA scheduling package
• Priority for buses at traffic signals
• Automatic fare collection systems, including smart cards 

The ITS systems acquired by JRA does not include vehicle condition sensors or any maintenance utilities. These were considered internal to the Bus Operating Companies (BOC), so it is up to them to define their requirements and deploy such systems.

While the full ITS suite is available to Rea Vaya, Metrobus have to date only been interested in the Automatic Fare Collection aspects. This is due to the need to be able to accept EMV cards, which the national Department of Transport has made mandatory. 

Overview of ITS deployment at Rea Vaya 

The deployment path of ITS systems at Rea Vaya is summarized as follows:

Radio System

Radio communications uses a commercial GSM network.

AVLC

AVL is based on GPS, which is integrated with the GSM communications device.

Real-Time Passenger Information (RTPI)

Real time passenger information is being provided at the bus stations on multi-line displays.

RTPI will also be provided on personal mobile devices.

The effective rollout of RTPI has been delayed as a result of the reduced reliability of the AVM/GPS data. The technical systems and devices are in place, but have not yet been launched. This is subject to the GPS reliability being resolved. Launch is expected some time in 2012.

The technical platform for the PDA services is also in place. It remains to be activated, and this is likely to be done after the bus station RTPI system has been launched and stabilized.

Communications

The communication system is the backbone of the landside information systems. Rea Vaya have installed their own fibre optic cables along the running way and connecting the stations. This approach involved a higher capital expenditure upfront, but has low operating costs. As a private system, they have avoided call and data transmission charges.

A 3^rd party network is used for the GPS communication.

Traffic Signal Priority

The basic technical platform to support connectivity and common functionality between the Rea Vaya ITS system and the JRA traffic control system is in place. This will facilitate the deployment of Traffic Signal Priority, which has not yet been developed. 

CCTV

All stations are covered by CCTV, which relays images by fibre-optic cable to the control centre. The CCTV images are used to support both general station management and for security.

 

Scheduling system and Interface with the AVLC

The ITS package includes DIVA scheduling software from which the schedules, rosters and timetables are generated. The drivers are required to drive to schedule, the BOC controller to ensure they do so and manage any deviations, the JRA controller supervises the BOC controllers.  There are reserve buses available. These can be released from the depot or the terminal.

Other ITS applications 

The ITS is used to to monitor driver quality. Buses are fitted with retarders which also helps to control driving style.

There is no direct linkage between the maintenance systems and the AVLC or other ITS systems. 

Operations Management

The Operations Management approach is as follows:

- The Bus Operating Company (BOC) is under contract to provide the bus services

- JRA specifies clearly what the BOC should do, and includes it in the contract

- It is the task of the BOC to manage the services

- JRA manage the BOC through the contract/specification

The Bus Control Centre (BCC) is the hub. It is currently located in JRA building, but a permanent home is being prepared for it. There are 8 workstations at the BCC (not all currently occupied). There are six banks of 4x3 CCTV screens at the front wall of the BCC. Each workstation has its own PC screen, keyboard, comms, etc.

In an adjacent room, there is a Disaster Management Centre (including incident management / emergency response centre). This caters for all traffic and urban response, as required. It is normally on stand-by / passive observation mode. It gears up for planned and foreseen events and incidents, and for unforeseen incidents or emergencies. Situations which are beyond the capacity of the BCC, or which require emergency response are passed to the Disaster Management Centre, and the BCC gets on with keeping the buses running.

The BOCs have their own control centre at their depot, it is part of the same technical system. The BOCs carry out the frontline operations management such as dispatch management, headway/ schedule management, communication with drivers, etc. Operating the service according to the specification is the responsibility of the BOCs.

JRA has a controller at the BCC. The controller is primarily observing the performance of the BOC(s). If (s)he is concerned about the operations on a particular route, this is communicated to the BOC control centre.  The JRA controller does not normally make direct interventions in the operations management, or communicate with the drivers or station staff.

MTC, the contractor for the Station Management Contract, has two of the workstations at the BCC. One is responsible for observing security issues, the other for station management activities including passenger handling, boarding and crowd management. They view the CCTV screens on the wall and also have information on their PCs.

Fare Collection on Rea Vaya

No tickets are sold on buses, neither on the Trunk Routes nor on the Feeders and Complimentary routes. All tickets must be either prepurchased from designated ticket vendors or bought at the Rea Vaya stations.

Stations are managed by MTC (Metro Trading Company). At each station, there is a station ambassador, ticket seller or cashier, security, cleaners and marshals. Security and cleaning are outsourced by MTC, all other staff are direct employees of MTC.

Fare Collection Technologies used at Rea Vaya

Currently, Rea Vaya uses a paper ticket system. This is an interim system as the Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) system was not ready at time of Rea Vaya launch.

The AFC tender was awarded to TMT, and it is expected to be operational during 2011. TMT took over the management of the interim system in September 2010 (after the World Cup).

Current Paper Ticket System

Currently the Rea Vaya system uses paper tickets purchased prior to boarding.

Tickets can be purchased either from approved vendors, or at the kiosks at the entry to the Rea Vaya bus stations. 

Automatic Fare Collection system

 The AFC was originally designed to operate with both:

• EMV (bank cards)
• MiFare (transport smart cards)

In the design phase, it was anticipated that South African Department of Transport would make EMV acceptance mandatory for all electronic fare collection systems of public transport operators. During 2011, the SA DoT did indeed make use of EMV mandatory for EFC in public transport systems.

Consequently, Rea Vaya reconsidered its approach, and decided to implement an EMV-only solution. MiFare cards will not be issued.

The AFC is designed to handle many fare structure configurations and concessions.

The AFC is based on cards with stored value.

Value can be loaded to cards at stations, at vendors, at vending machines, and at banks.

Electronic gates and card readers will be installed at all stations. Card readers will be installed on all complementary buses, with full access control (turnstiles).

Fare payment is based on a ‘two-tap’ approach – i.e. tap both at entry and exit. This allows the tariff to be calculated and deducted. There are penalties for evading access control, for not tapping in or out.

The AFC system will be fully integrated with the Automatic Public Transport Management System (APTMS).

Data links with the stations have already been put in place. A fibre optic network was established during the BRT running way and station construction, providing the data links to the Control Centre and other points.

AFC Assets and Maintenance

City of Johannesburg will provide the in-vehicle and at-station fare collection equipment to the BOC and to MTC on a loan basis, free of charge.

City of Johannesburg will maintain this equipment (under Contract). BOC and MTC will have responsibility to promptly advise the City if any equipment is faulty so that it can be repaired or replaced.

Off-vehicle Ticketing Sales and Distribution

Off-vehicle ticket sales is done through two channels:

• Station kiosks
• Authorised vendors

All Rea Vaya Trunk Line Stations have kiosks facilitating ticket sales. These are managed through the contract with MTC.

System Integration

The Rea Vaya team has developed the System Architecture themselves. A data model is used.

Deployment

Implementation and Operational Challenges

Most of the ITS systems are already functional. The Bus Control Centre was implemented in 3 months. The Priority for buses at traffic signals is still awaited. 

Transition

It has taken about a year to get the AVM system fully bedded in and for people to start using the reports and data as intended. There was a period of 2-3 months of transition, then it became fully functional. 

Post-deployment issues

Problems emerged with the GSM communications, which is particularly manifested in the AVL.

The polling is on a ‘push’ basis. The in-vehicle units should transmit their location every 30 seconds without having to be requested to transmit by the control center. Problems arose in being able to transmit bus data (including GPS location data) over the GSM network. The network was occasionally not available when the in-vehicle unit sought to transmit, messages were being disconnected, etc. As a consequence, the AVM system performance degraded.

On investigation, the cause was that the GSM network operator had been changing various protocols, and had not paid specific attention to the impact it may have on Rea Vaya  (which is a small part of the overall business). After some interaction, Rea Vaya was able to bring the GSM network operator and the GPS supplier together, to each understand the other's technical approach and needs. The drivers' strike during August/September 2011 delayed the ability to thoroughly test the amended GSM/GPS in live operations and to see whether full performance is restored.

There is now a process for dialogue ahead of changes in future, so that the GSM supplier has a heads-up on changes and can adapt in time. It is recognized that the GSM network operator (Vodacom) will continue to change things from time to time, so Rea Vaya need their GPS supplier to be willing and able to make changes. For the moment, Rea Vaya feel that the Service Level Agreement covers them sufficiently. Nonetheless, it is a dependency they had not foreseen which may need to be monitored, and a lesson learned of which other ITS implementers should take note. 

Capital Costs of the ITS

This data is not in the public domain and has not been made available.

Operating Costs of the ITS

This data is not in the public domain and has not been made available.

Revenue Generated by or through the ITS system

There are no incomes generated by the ITS systems. 

Background/Reference documentation

Reference documentation can be found at the Rea Vaya website at:

http://www.reavaya.org.za