10 December 2013
South Africans came out in numbers today despite the increment weather to be part of the Memorial Service to honour and celebrate the extraordinary life of our global icon. The City of Joburg together with its transport partners was able to transport 20 000 mourners to the Official Memorial Service for Nelson Mandela. The operation involved over 200 buses from PUTCO, Rea Vaya and Metrobus. This excludes the buses organised by the Gauteng Provincial Government bringing mourners from all over Gauteng and further afield.
The mini bus taxi industry also assisted to ferry local people to bus pick up points. 400 marshalls and supervisors were deployed to assist with the arrangements in addition to JMPD and SAPS deployments at all transport sites. After the memorial service, the City of Joburg arranged additional services for people from Soweto who had walked or used alternative transport in the morning. When New Canada Road flooded at about 17:00 a deviation route was speedily implemented.
The Stadium was emptied within two hours and there were no accidents or incidents. This accomplishment can be attributed to the commitment and efforts by all our staff, transport partners and facility managers and other stakeholders who volunteered their facilities and services in the memory of the legacy of Nelson Mandela. It also demonstrates the increasing capacity of public transport operators to co-operate together and provide an integrated service.
The City of Joburg would like to thank our staff and partners for their support and the residents of Joburg for their patience. We apologise for any inconvenience that was caused due to these extra-ordinary arrangements.
Issued by: Government Communication and Information System (GCIS)
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