The GO GEORGE public transport system is already a huge hit with the community just a month after the official launch.

Four routes were activated in December last year, as part of the first trial phase of the GO GEORGE public transport system.

These four routes operate between the CBD, Denneoord, Loerie Park and the Garden Route Mall. The network of GO GEORGE routes will eventually cover the entire city of George, eventually expanding towards neighbouring towns.

“I was proud to welcome the people of our beautiful city on board some of the first scheduled GO GEORGE bus trips in December,” said Executive Mayor Alderman Charles Standers.

“The feedback we received on that first day, and in the weeks since then, has shown that our dedication and hard work on this project was bearing fruit.”

Passengers have done in excess of 69 000 trips on the GO GEORGE service since the launch of the service on the 8 December 2014.

Addressing minor challenges

The Mayor added that some minor problems have been identified. The Operations team are continuously assessing the GO GEORGE system including the feedback received from the public and are making adjustments wherever possible.

“We saw that we needed to reroute some of our services in Rosemoor, to make a more direct link possible for people wanting to travel to the CBD. But this is a developing project and the feedback from our passengers is so important, as it helps us to identify whatever needs to be changed in order to deliver the best possible service for the people of George.”

In coming weeks and months, the GO GEORGE team will be working on developing and activating more routes across the city.

Educating the public

Trained GO GEORGE ambassadors have been deployed to educate passengers on how to use this new public transport system. This, explained the Mayor, was important so that people understood how to pay for a journey on a GO GEORGE bus, where to wait for a bus, and how to indicate to an approaching bus that the driver should stop to pick up a passenger.

GO GEORGE buses are operational seven days a week, from early in the morning until late at night. Journeys on the routes activated in December last year cost R8.50 per ticket. Every passenger needs his or her own ticket, which can only be purchased on the bus.