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Transport
A full minibus taxi.
A board on the M1 indicating the exit for Johannesburg. The M1 is one of the
busiest highways in Johannesburg.
The M2 in the afternoon as it passes through the Central Business District.
Busy side street off Beyers Naudé Drive in Cresta, Gauteng.
A rainy drive on the N1.Johannesburg, much like Los Angeles, is a young and
sprawling city geared towards private motorists, and lacks a convenient public
transportation system. A significant number of the city's residents are
dependent on the city's informal minibus taxis.
Mass transit
Johannesburg's metro railway system connects central Johannesburg to Soweto,
Pretoria, and most of the satellite towns along the Witwatersrand. The railways
transport huge numbers of workers every day. However, the railway infrastructure
was built in Johannesburg's infancy and covers only the older areas in the
city's south. In the past half century Johannesburg has grown largely
northwards, and none of the northern areas, including the key business districts
of Sandton, Midrand, Randburg, and Rosebank, have any rail infrastructure.
The Gauteng Provincial Government's Blue IQ Project, Gautrain, however, has made
provisions for the creation of a rapid rail link, running north to south,
between Johannesburg and Pretoria, and east-west between Sandton and
Johannesburg International Airport. Slated to be ready in time for the 2010 FIFA
World Cup, the rail system is being designed to alleviate traffic on the N1
freeway between Johannesburg and Pretoria, which records vehicle loads of up to
160,000 per day.
Airports
Johannesburg is served by OR Tambo International Airport (formerly Johannesburg
International Airport) for both domestic and international flights. Other
airports include Rand Airport, Grand Central Airport, and Lanseria. Rand
Airport, located in Germiston, is a small airfield used mostly for private
aircraft and the home of South African Airways's first Boeing 747 Classic, the
Lebombo, which is now an aviation museum. Grand Central is located in Midrand
and also caters to small, private aircraft. Lanseria Airport is used for
commercial flights to Cape Town, Botswana, and Sun City.
Buses
Johannesburg is served by a bus fleet operated by Metrobus, a corporate unit of
the City of Johannesburg. It has a fleet consisting of approximately 550 single
and double-decker buses, plying 84 different routes in the city. This total
includes 200 modern buses (150 double-deckers and 50 single-deckers), made by
Volvo and Marcopolo/Brasa in 2002. Metrobus' fleet carries approximately 20
million passengers per annum. Metrobus also operates a number of open-top buses
in the "City Slicker" role, using them to provide guided tours around the city.
In addition there are a number of private bus operators, though most focus on
the inter-city routes, or on bus charters for touring groups.
Taxis
Johannesburg has two kinds of taxis, metered taxis and minibus taxis. Unlike
many cities, metered taxis are not allowed to drive around the city looking for
passengers and instead must be called and ordered to a destination. Metered
taxis are rare, in comparison to many other cities.
The minibus "taxis" are the de facto standard and essential form of transport
for the majority of the population. Since the 1980s The minibus taxi industry
has been severely affected by turf wars.
Although essential, these taxis are often of a poor standard in not only
road-worthiness, but also in terms of driver quality with a majority of taxi
drivers breaking traffic laws regularly (such as driving in the emergency lane
while speeding on a highway). With the high demand for transport by the working
class of South Africa, minibus taxis are often over-filled with passengers
causing yet another hazard for road users. However, without subsidies from
Government and a lack of other feasible public transport, minibus taxis will
remain an essential form of transport for many of Joburg's working class.
Freeways
Johannesburg freeways
The fact that Johannesburg is not built near a large navigable body of water has
meant that from the very beginning of the city's history, ground transportation
has been the most important method of transporting people and goods in and out
of the city. One of Africa's most famous "beltways" or ring roads/orbitals is
the Johannesburg Ring Road. The road is comprised of three freeways that
converge on the city, forming an 80-kilometre loop around it: the N3 Eastern
Bypass, which links Johannesburg with Durban; the N1 Western Bypass, which links
Johannesburg with Pretoria and Cape Town; and the N12 Southern Bypass, which
links Johannesburg with Witbank and Kimberley. The N3 was built exclusively with
asphalt, while the N12 and N1 sections were made with concrete, hence the
nickname given to the N1 Western Bypass, "The Concrete Highway". In spite of
being up to 12 lanes wide in some areas (6 lanes in either direction), the
Johannesburg Ring Road is frequently clogged with traffic. The Gillooly's
Interchange, built on an old farm and the point at which the N3 Eastern Bypass
and the R24 Airport Freeway intersect, is purported to be the busiest
interchange in the Southern Hemisphere. It is also claimed that the N1 is the
busiest road in South Africa.
Trains
Construction of the Gautrain Rapid Rail started in October 2006 and will be
completed by 2010, in time for the FIFA World Cup. It will comprise of a number
of underground stations, as well as above ground stations. It will run from
Johannesburg's Park Station, through Rosebank, Sandton, Midrand and into
Pretoria. There will also be a line from the OR Tambo International Airport
traveling to Sandton. This will be the first new railway system that has been
laid in South Africa since 1977.
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