GO GEORGE wheels roll into Phase 4B at last

23
Mar '20
4B eerste passasier
4B first passenger: The very first passenger on the newly rolled out bus routes! Magdalena Crowley first boarded the community bus close to home and transferred to route 15 Parkdene - CBD to get to work on Sunday morning. With her is the driver of the first bus, Stuurman Williams.

The GO GEORGE bus service rolled out to Parkdene, Ballotsview, Conville, Borcherds and Lawaaikamp on Sunday 22 March 2020 with three additional main routes and one community route connecting these areas with one another and the rest of town.

Residents approached the buses with great anticipation to try out the new routes. Most trips on the first day were made to work and to church, since non-essential travel is currently discouraged in the light of the Covid-19 virus pandemic. The three-day promotion of free trips for Smart Card holders to celebrate the milestone roll-out had also been postponed to curb unnecessary travel.
According to James Robb, GO GEORGE Manager, the GO GEORGE team keep their ears to the ground for feedback from the community which helps them make necessary improvements wherever possible.

 

4B Beverley
Lancy Afrika (left) and Beverley Finnies from Parkdene work at the Wimpy in the York Street Centre. Beverley says she has a bus stop in front of her house, “so I get on and off the bus right there. It is so convenient and safe – thank you, GO GEORGE!”. They transfer to route 18 Blanco which conveniently stops next to the centre.

 

“As replacing an informal method of public transport with a more formal, scheduled public transport system has its own unique challenges in every community, the first few days, and sometimes even weeks, often pose challenges,” he said. “Due to residents’ patterns of use, some route and timetable changes might be implemented during the first weeks to service our passengers’ needs. As people start to use the system more frequently, these patterns of use and demand change. We acknowledge this and try to make improvements wherever possible until such time as these patterns stabilise. Peak-time demand, that is between 05:30 and 08:30, and 15:30 and 18:30, is also taken into account.

“GO GEORGE thanks the community for their patience, understanding and continued enthusiasm while we were addressing the issues that kept us from rolling out earlier. We are honoured and privileged to finally be able to serve the community,” he said.

More information can be obtained by phoning the GO GEORGE Call Centre (0800 044 044), visiting the Routes page or via Facebook or Twitter.

4B Pote en sy mense
Sinovia Pullen (second from left) and Louwna Olieslager both work at the Lyttelton Frail Care Centre and are grateful for the convenience and safety that GO GEORGE brings. Their husbands, Shaun Pullen (far right) and Shammion Olieslager (left) as well as Pote, the dog, accompanied them to the Parkdene High bus stop. Shaun works at the Garden Route Mall and will in future take the direct bus route from Parkdene to work.

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