Rea Vaya plays an important role in fighting unemployment. So far, it has created over 800 permanent jobs and almost 7 000 temporary positions.

From bus drivers to construction crews, Rea Vaya has been creating jobs

REA VAYA, the City of Johannesburg's Bus Rapid Transit system, prides itself on helping to create jobs; and has consistently generated employment in various sectors.

Most noticeably, it has created jobs in the companies with which it collaborates, including PioTrans, the bus operating company, and the Metro Trading Company (MTC).

The MTC is a municipal-owned entity that, among other tasks, takes care of taxis operating in Johannesburg by giving developmental support to the sector and managing facilities set aside for taxi operators.

The MTC is contracted to manage the Rea Vaya stations. In this, jobs have been created to staff the stations, clean the stations, and provide security to the stations.

Rea Vaya has, through the MTC, created over 600 jobs. Most of these jobs are permanent, but a number of temporary and contracting jobs were created, too. In all, 280 permanent jobs have been created so far, and 90 temporary jobs and 240 fixed-term contract jobs.

In terms of agreements signed between the taxi industry and the City, about 50 percent of the people employed by the MTC are drivers or others employees of the taxi industry affected by the introduction of Rea Vaya.

For its part, PioTrans' stakeholders are taxi associations and former taxi operators. A total of 256 permanent positions have been created in this company, from managing the company to driving and maintaining the buses. All the drivers have been employed from the taxi industry and were previously taxi drivers.

Rea Vaya has also boosted job creation in its own offices, where approximately 40 permanent positions have been generated, it says.

In addition, the Johannesburg Development Agency, which oversees the construction elements of the BRT project, has seen some 6 700 temporary jobs created in creating the routes, building stations and precincts, and upgrading infrastructure. The JDA measures one job as equal to 55 working days.

The JDA, as an agency of the City of Johannesburg, works closely with the BRT project. The JDA's role is to stimulate and support area-based economic development initiatives – and the BRT is one of the largest in the City.

Some 816 permanent positions and 6 840 temporary jobs have been created since Rea Vaya's inception.

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