November 15, 2007
By George Matlala
Park-and-ride facilities have been organised for soccer fans travelling to Saturday's game between Bafana Bafana and the USA as part of a scheme to avoid congestion on the roads leading to the Ellis Park Stadium.
The City's transportation department has partnered with the South African Rail Commuter Corporation (SARCC) to provide secure parking, buses and taxis for the hundreds of spectators attending the Nelson Mandela Challenge game between South Africa and the USA on Saturday, 17 November.
The park-and-ride project forms part of the City's Travel Demand Management Plan in preparation for the 2010 Fifa World Cup™, says Yolisa Mashilwane, the director of management support in the transportation department. The programme is also aimed at encouraging people to use public transport, she adds.
"We are aiming at 70:30 split between public transport and private transport respectively for the 2010 World Cup and beyond."
Park-and-rides were used successfully during the rugby match between South Africa and Manu Samoa at Ellis Park on 9 June 2006. The initiative was also tested during the Soweto Derby between soccer giants Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates on 28 April 2006.
Facilities
Spectators can park their cars either at the University of Witwatersrand West Campus or at the Bezuidenhout Valley Park for R20 a vehicle. They will be transported to Ellis Park Stadium at no additional cost.
Metro buses will set off from West Campus from 10am, while minibus taxis will ferry those travelling from Bezuidenhout Park. Transport returns from the stadium after the match.
Parking is also open at several train stations in Soweto for R10 a car. There will be a scheduled train service running from the Naledi Station via Ikwezi, Dube and Braamfontein and Park Station, stopping at Doornfontein Station. Train 2215 will depart from Naledi Station at 12.40pm and train 2218 will leave Doornfontein Station at 5.54pm.
Scheduled trains will be running on Saturday
Armed guards will be at all the park-and-ride facilities to keep people's cars safe, Mashilwane says.
Congestion
Congestion on the roads leading to Ellis Park prevented emergency workers from saving lives during the stampede in 2001, when 43 people were killed during a game between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, she notes. "We cannot continue to have such disasters."
And the City is working together with the South African Football Association (Safa) and soccer clubs such as Chiefs and Pirates to promote the use of park-and-rides.
"Park-and-ride facilities are a necessity," Mashilwane says.
Mandela Challenge
The Nelson Mandela Challenge is an annual one-off event pitting Bafana Bafana against international opponents. It began in 1994 and since then the national side has locked horns with opponents like Brazil, Argentina, Holland and Nigeria.
Boitumelo Mdwaba, the corporate communications officer at the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, says proceeds from the match have helped the fund in its work to care for children and young people with disabilities, develop their skills and ensure their wellbeing.
"Safa believes in the work that we do."
She says the fund will get R500 000 from this year's match. "Money – R250 000 – started coming in from 2006; in 1996 Safa donated a Polo Classic sedan."
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