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A book on the history of public transport in Johannesburg, The people shall move, traces the affect of public transport - or the lack of it - on the city and its working class residents.
Taxi industry representatives, Sicelo Mabaso and Eric Motshwane with Transport MMC Rehana Moosajee and author James Sey celebrate the launch of the book
(Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg)
IN the next five to 10 years Gauteng will be unrecognisable - at least from a transport perspective - when freeways, Rapid Bus and Rail transit systems are complete.
These are the words of the member of the mayoral committee for transport, Rehana Moosajee, who was speaking at the Apartheid Museum in Ormonde on 21 October, at the official launch of The people shall move, a book about the history of public transport.
It looks at the history of the struggle of the working class and other ordinary South Africans to move around Johannesburg using public transport. It is a story of how public transport affected the lives of those people, and how the policies of apartheid shaped the way public transport was run.
It also provides a personal and anecdotal view of all modes of transport, including trams, buses, trains and taxis and focuses on the changing role of transport throughout Joburg's history.
The future of public transport is explored, with the introduction of the Bus Rapid Transit system now under construction. The system is expected to revolutionise the sector, moving people using a first-class public transport network.
Speaking on behalf of the mayor, Moosajee said, "By this time next year, the first phase of Rea Vaya, our new Bus Rapid Transit link, will be in operation. By completion, Rea Vaya will be an integrated network of dedicated transport lanes comprising about 325 kilometres."
The people shall move was written by James Sey, who said, "When researching the book, the aim was to get a people's perspective on how apartheid affected public transport users."
According to Moosajee, they were hoping to show and remind people how the public transport industry had evolved.
Sicelo Mabaso, the chairman of the Top Six Taxi Association, which represents the leading taxi companies, was excited about the book, saying it was about time the public transport industry got recognition.
It was commissioned by the City's department of transportation. Moosajee said about 500 copies of the book had been printed and would be distributed to all City libraries. They were not for sale at present.
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