Metrobus
Overview
Getting vast numbers of people from one part of the city to another safely, quickly and affordably is the job of Metrobus, the Johannesburg Metropolitan Bus Service.
Set up as a company in 2000, it is wholly owned by the City of Johannesburg. It is also the second largest municipal bus operator in South Africa, with 532 buses covering 80 scheduled routes and 130 school routes.
Metrobus transports about 90 000 passengers daily fulfilling its primary task – transporting commuters using a scheduled bus service.
The transport company's vision is to be a world-class African bus service across the greater Johannesburg metro.
Its mission is to provide customer-friendly public bus transport within greater Johannesburg. To do this, it has distilled its aims, as follows:
- Innovation - Metrobus will continuously look for ways to grow its business and introduce cost-reducing and efficiency-enhancing methods and technologies;
- Safety - it will ensure that its passengers are always safe and its bus operators will be the best trained in the country.
- Reliability - it will provide a reliable, punctual service;
- Efficiency - it will provide a cost-efficient service to ensure fares are kept as low as possible;
- Sustainability - it will be financially viable and will produce above-industry-average profitability through efficient resource allocation and management;
- Environmental consciousness - it will ensure that its buses do not pollute the environment;
- Customer-focused - it will ensure that buses are clean and comfortable and that its operators are trained in customer services;
- Continuous learning - it will encourage staff and their families to learn, with special focus on their health, safety and social wellbeing;
Metrobus aims to turn public transport in Joburg into a professionally run operation.
To reach this objective, the company has studied commuters' needs and has invested heavily in technology and new vehicles to improve its service.
Bus Hire
Metrobus vehicles are available for hire for special occasions. For more information contact Metrobus or visit the bus hire office, Fordsburg Depot.
Bus Routes
For the purposes of Metrobus’s operations, the city has been divided into concentric zones, radiating out from the CBD. There are currently six zones, with most of the routes starting from the inner city points in Zone 1.
The number of zones a commuter crosses determines the fare. As demand for public transport grows, Metrobus increases the number of routes to different areas. Some major routes do not go through the CBD at all.
One such route goes between Soweto, Sandton and Sunninghill:
Zone
1
From the city centre to Parktown and to Joe Slovo Drive and Louis Botha Avenue;
Zone
2
From the corner of Jan Smuts Avenue and Empire Road in Braamfontein to the corner of Jan Smuts Avenue and Tyrwhitt Road in Rosebank.
Zone
3
From the corner of Jan Smuts Avenue and Tyrwhitt Road in Rosebank to Craighall Park.
Zone
4
From Craighall Park along Beyers Naude Drive and to the Randburg Mall.
Zone
5
From the Randburg Mall to Beverley Gardens.
Zone
6
From Beverley Gardens to Northgate.
Focus areas
Quick facts
Metrobus has a fleet of 532, including two luxury buses and six special needs buses fitted with hydraulic wheelchair lifts.
- Supplies a daily public bus service;
- Provides transport for people with disabilities;
- Provides pensioner transport;
- Provides a dedicated transport service for school learners;
- Supplies commercial contracts to transport employees;
- Operates a Gauteng department of transport contract in Eldorado Park with 19 buses;
- Provides buses for private hire;
- Provides transport to and from major events; and
- Offers advertising space on buses and tickets;
Its services are constantly expanding and Metrobus is, among other plans, determined to extend its bus routes, provide feeder services for the Gautrain, and integrate services for people with disabilities into the scheduled service.