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Rea Vaya is Johannesburg's bus rapid transit, running since 30 August 2009
Permanent project revision
Revision 2026-10-11-baseline · effective 2026-10-11
Current revision. This is the snapshot used by the live entity page.
Created the first structured Evidence Passport with 19 claims and 10 source dossiers.
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add /evidencePassport — Added claim-level evidence mapping and source dossiers.add /revisionHistory — Established a permanent, hash-addressed baseline revision.The text below is copied verbatim from the published record. Each claim names the source dossiers that carry it; caveats stay attached to the claim they qualify.
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Rea Vaya is Johannesburg's bus rapid transit, running since 30 August 2009
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Phase 1C to Sandton, planned for 2017, was launched on 23 October 2025
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A 24-hour City-run control centre tracks buses by automatic vehicle location and monitors stations by CCTV
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The City builds stations, pays for fare and control systems, and pays operating companies formed from the taxi industry per kilometre
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Smartcard fares replaced paper tickets in July 2013
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account-based ticketing with bank-card payment has been phased in since October 2024
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The 2007 plan projected 70,000 passengers a day for Phase 1A and 434,000 for full Phase 1
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the City reported 19,972 trips per working day in 2024/25 against a target of 42,500, which the Auditor-General could not verify
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Rea Vaya's finance director said in 2014 that the switch to a bank-based fare card had caused a 'significant reduction' in passenger numbers and that the system would need operating subsidies for most of its 12-year bus contracts
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Fare revenue fell from R135.7 million in 2022/23 to R64.3 million in 2024/25, 61.1% of that year's target
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After the move to account-based ticketing, commuters reported being double-charged in 2025; the City blamed cable theft and fibre outages
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Daily trips fell from 41,645 in 2019/20 to 19,972 in 2024/25
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the Phase 1A feeder services in Soweto were not operating at the end of that year
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The economic evaluation of Phases 1A and 1B that the City commissioned with GEF funding has not been located in published form
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contracted the buses to companies formed from the taxi industry on fee-per-kilometre terms
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the Phase 1A company entered business rescue in December 2023
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when its rescue practitioner said in May 2026 that the City owed it more than R30 million, routes stopped whatever the control room showed
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The national grant behind the system is being wound down after the Transport Department concluded that 'numbers don't lie'
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daily ridership, is the one the auditor could not confirm
This layer records what is known about each source, what is still missing, and the exact snapshot this page is rendering. A missing date, archive or hash stays visible as missing.
Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither.
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src-ea2dfcf6248a0b0aThe City's integrated annual report for 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025 (488 pages). Carries the Transport Department's account of Rea Vaya: 19 972 passenger trips per working day; two bus operating companies, PioTrans (in business rescue) and Litsamaiso; all Phase 1A feeder services not operational; the control room operating from the Selby depot; new AFC gates and validators at all Phase 1A/1B stations; 68 buses bought from Bombela for Phase 1C(a); fare revenue of R64.3 million against a R105.1 million target (61.1%). The Auditor-General's report inside it lists the ridership indicator (target 42 500, reported 19 972) among those for which adequate supporting evidence was not provided. The date is the report's cover year; the document states no publication day.
src-acd72872915c46cdThe approved 2026/27 integrated development plan. Its KPI table carries 19 972 as the audited 2024/25 baseline for average Rea Vaya passenger trips per working day, a 2025/26 target of 48 182, a 2026/27 target of 20 000 and targets rising to 71 401 by 2029/30; its summary table states a 2026/27 target of 48,000 daily trips, and it lists Phase 1C infrastructure as technically complete and awaiting operationalisation. The document states only its plan year; consultation forums ran 18 April to 16 May 2026.
src-784ba57d2e356a39Data-journalism chart with text citing the City's draft IDP: 48,182 daily trips targeted, 19,972 in 2024/25, 41,645 in 2019/20; PioTrans entered business rescue in December 2023 after creditors tried to repossess its buses; Soweto feeder buses suspended after taxi-industry protests and again in February 2025 after two drivers were killed; Rea Vaya funded primarily by the Public Transport Network Grant, which the Transport Minister plans to wind down by 2028/29.
src-82745398c1f7444dRequest-for-proposal terms of reference written by the City of Johannesburg for a GEF-funded, UNDP-assisted economic evaluation of Phases 1A and 1B, held on the UNDP Evaluation Resource Centre. States the 2007 Operational Plan projections (Phase 1A 70 000, Phase 1B 137 000, full Phase 1 434 000 passengers a day), the 30 August 2009 start, the division of roles (City funds infrastructure, fare equipment and ITS; operators paid per kilometre under 12-year negotiated contracts), the 143-bus fleet financed through BNDES and taken over by the operator, and the ITS layer: a 24-hour City-run control centre with automatic vehicle location, real-time passenger information, station CCTV and smartcard fare collection replacing paper tickets. The document is undated; its reference list ends in October 2011.
src-561ba714299fd309City newsroom article on the Phase 1C launch at Marlboro Community Hall on 23 October 2025: 68 buses along Louis Botha Avenue, 13 of 15 new low-floor stations completed, service to begin on 1 November 2025 managed by ABC Transport, the Selby depot at 90% as operations, maintenance and control centre, free Wi-Fi at stations. Also carries the mayor's statement that Rea Vaya 'remains one of the safest and most reliable transport systems in Johannesburg', a claim this entry does not repeat.
src-2b2042b41dccca81Mayoral committee report on 2015/16 fares. Records the distance-based fare structure approved by Council in 2011, the launch of the Automated Fare Collection system in the last quarter of the 2012/13 financial year, the banking service agreement with Absa with a loading fee of 2.5% (minimum R1.50), and R20 replacement cards.
src-b67388b0b772dfbcInterview with Rea Vaya spokesperson Benny Makgoga: paper tickets gave way to the AFC system in July 2013; transition to account-based ticketing in phases since October 2024 with app top-ups, bank-card travel and balance checks; double charges attributed to cable theft, fibre disruptions and power outages; unfair penalties reversed.
src-c12b33061cbba145Project profile with statements by finance and administration director Brendan Petersen: Phase 1A expected to carry about 42 000 people a day and Phase 1B to add 60 000, but the whole system carrying 35 000 per weekday; operational subsidies needed for most of the 12-year contracts; the bank-based card caused a 'significant reduction' in passengers; Phase 1C planned for 2017; an estimated R4-billion invested to date.
src-33f065e44b54c5ccSunday Times report on the phasing out of the public transport network grant after more than R80bn over two decades, quoting Transport Department spokesperson Collen Msibi ('Numbers don't lie, and only 152,000 passengers use these forms of transport nationwide daily') and Johannesburg transport spokesperson Benny Makgoga saying the system had become degraded and was facing partial collapse.
src-cfff853c99a22398Reports PioTrans scaling down Phase 1A services; its business rescue practitioner says the City owes more than R30m in invoices since January and unlawfully terminated the contract (before the courts); routes F1, F2, F9, T1 and C1 affected; the City declined to discuss contractual payments.