{"id":97483,"date":"2025-05-06T16:10:22","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T14:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=97483"},"modified":"2025-05-06T16:12:07","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T14:12:07","slug":"city-of-johannesburg-loses-r330-million-grant-meant-to-bolster-public-transport-infrastructure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/city-of-johannesburg-loses-r330-million-grant-meant-to-bolster-public-transport-infrastructure\/","title":{"rendered":"City of Johannesburg Loses R313 Million Grant Meant to Bolster Public Transport Infrastructure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n3-minute read<\/em>
\n06 May 2025 | 16:07 CAT<\/p>\n

\"\"

Automobile Association slams City of Johannesburg’s Rea Vaya failure.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThis is not only a financial loss. It\u2019s a missed opportunity to improve the lives of thousands of Johannesburg\u2019s residents,\u201d says Eleanor Mavimbela, spokesperson for the Automobile Association (AA).<\/p>\n

The City of Johannesburg is under fire following the forfeiture of a R313 million public transport grant allocated for the upkeep and improvement of the Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. The Automobile Association has described the incident as a critical setback for the city\u2019s already fragile public transport infrastructure.<\/p>\n

The loss stems from what has been described as severe operational failures, including unmaintained buses, incomplete bus corridors, and the city\u2019s failure to meet the terms of the grant. According to the AA, the funds were meant to provide affordable transport for low-income earners, including pensioners and grant recipients who rely on accessible mobility to navigate the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis grant was supposed to maintain and expand the BRT network, offering a lifeline to the poorest of the poor,\u201d said Mavimbela. \u201cWith its loss, we\u2019ve narrowed their already limited transport options.\u201d<\/p>\n

The AA warns that without the grant, Johannesburg faces increased congestion, deteriorating road infrastructure, and a worsening public mobility crisis. \u201cWe cannot even count on the train system anymore,\u201d Mavimbela added, referencing the long-standing issues within the country\u2019s rail network.<\/p>\n

Originally introduced to bridge the mobility gap for township and inner-city commuters, the BRT system has long been hailed as a solution to Johannesburg\u2019s transport woes. Its potential collapse, should no remedial steps be taken, would roll back gains made in public transport accessibility.<\/p>\n

Mavimbela has urged stakeholders and civil society to intervene, stating that a collaborative approach could restore the grant. \u201cLet\u2019s not allow the BRT system to die a slow, unnecessary death,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The City is yet to issue a comprehensive response on possible next steps, but public sentiment is clear: urgent action is needed to reverse the decline and restore dignity to public transport in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n

Is this another case of mismanagement crippling progress in the country\u2019s economic hub?<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up with Moulana Junaid Kharsany and Eleanor Mavimbela here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 06 May 2025 | 16:07 CAT \u201cThis is not only a financial loss. It\u2019s a missed opportunity to improve the lives of thousands of Johannesburg\u2019s residents,\u201d says Eleanor Mavimbela, spokesperson for the Automobile Association (AA). The City of Johannesburg is under fire following the forfeiture of a R313 million […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":97484,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Rea-Vaya-2.jpg?fit=1000%2C581&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-pmj","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-14 23:26:04","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}