Rea Vaya - A warm Rea Vaya welcome for fans

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June 2010

A warm Rea Vaya welcome for fans

Monday, 21 June 2010

Joburg’s mayoral committee member for transport, Rehana Moosajee, and the executive director of the 2010 office, Sibongile Mazibuko, welcome FIFA’s Jerome Valcke and the OC’s Danny Jordaan to the Rea Vaya Westgate Station
Rea Vaya station ambassadors and City of Johannesburg volunteers are determined to make sure fans have a smooth trip to the match-day venues in town.

IT'S match day in Joburg and the volunteers greeting the fans at the Westgate Rea Vaya station are warmer than the winter sun.

Dressed in bright yellow, with the Joburg and FIFA logos emblazoned on their shirts, the team at the transport hub are determined to make the experience as smooth as possible for the visitors. They are backed up by the Rea Vaya station ambassadors, dressed in vibrant red jackets.

A warm welcome at the Westgate Station

"Bien venue," says one as a group of Ivorian fans waving their familiar orange, white and green flags arrive to catch a Rea Vaya bus to Soccer City for the match against Brazil. At the station, a Brazilian fan tries out his yellow vuvuzela, making sure he's in fine form for the crucial match.

A pocket-size match day transport guide from the City of Johannesburg and a magazine loaded with information about Rea Vaya – Joburg's Bus Rapid Transit system which is one of the transport options to get to the two match stadiums in the city – are handed out before the fans get their return tickets checked.

Buses arrive regularly, long before the match is due to kick off. LCD screens remind spectators to note the station name where they disembark at the stadium, as they need to catch the bus from there to return to the correct destination.

The Local Organising Committee's chief executive, Danny Jordaan, and the FIFA general-secretary, Jerome Valcke, arrive to take a Rea Vaya bus to Soccer City. They are greeted by the mayoral committee member for transport, Rehana Moosajee, and the executive director of Johannesburg's 2010 Office, Sibongile Mazibuko.

Miss World representatives prepare
to catch a Rea Vaya bus to Soccer City

Everyone is eager to check out how the match day transport in Joburg is working, and so far, according to Mazibuko "it's working well".

Joburg hosted the opening ceremony and match at its flagship stadium of Soccer City, which is also the venue of the closing match.

Along with the football officials, the 31 Miss World representatives, from the 2010 teams, arrive at Westgate Station, bringing a touch of glamour to downtown Joburg. They are immediately surrounded by television teams and photographers, interviewing them about the results, about the cities they've visited and about their predictions for the final.

Miss Australia, Sophie Lavers, sums up the general feeling of being in the city for the World Cup: "It's been really great."

Rea Vaya buses transported 10 000 fans to and from Soccer City on 20 June for the match between Brazil and the Ivory Coast.

FANS TAKE REA VAYA

Football fans using Rea Vaya buses to the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ matches in Joburg are assured of a safe and reliable ride.

Related stories:

REA Vaya impressed football spectators with its exceptional services over the opening weekend of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

The bus service managed to clear the stadiums on the opening day, 11 June, within two hours and within one hour on 12 June.

"That was a great service indeed. We enjoyed the ride, because after the match all the buses were lined up along the station and it took me 12 minutes to reach home," said a very excited Thomas Mabunda.

The opening ceremony and first match of the World Cup – between Bafana Bafana and Mexico – took place at Soccer City on 11 June, while Ellis Park Stadium saw Argentina battle it out with Nigeria on 12 June.

Some 16 000 people were transported in 70 buses to and from the stadiums daily over the weekend.

Roger Layton, who used the bus service to get to the opening match, said: "It was very easy and only took 15 minutes to get there."

Another happy spectator, Dylan Atkinson, said: "We had a crowd of 40 going from Ellis Park to Soccer City for the match and they were from 15 different nations over five continents and all of them were impressed.

"Well done and keep striving for greater excellence," he added.

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