Rea Vaya helps informal traders make ends meet
- Details
- 09 April 2015
The increased freedom of movement ushered in by Johannesburg's BRT system has had positive spin-offs for the city's informal traders. Elias Nkabinde reports.
Informal trading has always been a big part of South Africa's economy, not least of all in its busiest province, Gauteng. With the unemployment rate sitting at above 25%, informal trade is, for many South Africans, the only alternative to unemployment.
This is one of the ways in which Dudu Nemakonde sustains himself and his children. Nemakonde is an informal trader who has set up shop outside the Rea Vaya Carlton Westbound Station near Carlton Centre on Commissioner Street.
Johannesburg's bus rapid transit (BRT) system has not only changed the face of public transport in the city; it is also, by increasing people's freedom of movement, promoting social inclusion - and making a big difference to self-sustaining traders like Nemakonde.
"I have been a trader for about eight years and it is not the easiest of jobs," says Nemakonde. "I can confidently say that Rea Vaya bus operations have benefits for us traders because it increases the number of people travelling into the inner city. People that sell perishable foods like myself want to be where there are lots of people."
As Rea Vaya's buses offload passengers at Carlton Westbound Station, many will stock up on some chips, snacks, drinks, fruit or cigarettes from Nemakonde before walking on to their destinations.
Nemakonde supports two children aged four and eight, and says his trade enables him to pay his kids' school fees.
Zoleka Khumalo, a Rea Vaya regular who does domestic work in the inner city, has been buying food from Nemakonde for the past year. Khumalo says she finds it convenient to buy a few items after getting off at the station - Nemakonde's food is affordable, on-the-go and of high quality.
For Lungiswa Zodwa, another informal trader working in the vicinity of Carlton Westbound, the little money he generates is enough to put a meal on his table and cover his rent.
Zodwa believes Rea Vaya has had a positive impact, because commuters are no longer restricted to standing in queues in a finite number of taxi ranks, but are spread out over the network of Rea Vaya stations across the city.
"I think more and more people are using the Rea Vaya buses and it is good for us informal traders," Zodwa said. "It has exposed us to more people from different areas. Not only people that use the bus to go to work, but even tourists."
The long-term plan is for Rea Vaya's routes to cover over 330 kilometres, allowing more than 80 percent of Johannesburg's residents to catch a bus. This links in closely with the City of Joburg's Corridors of Freedom initiative, which is working towards a liveable, people-centred city in which services, schools and work opportunities are closer to home for all residents.
