2010 Soccer World Cup transport problems

[Ming]

Assume that 32 teams play 64 matches in nine host cities around SA.

2010 Soccer World Cup is going to stretch SA transport capacity to its limits, and in some cases beyond, Parliament's portfolio committees on sport and recreation and transport heard on Tuesday.

Deputy director-general of integrated planning and intersphere co-ordination, Mathabatha Makonyama, said the event would require 60 trains, about 2400 buses and at least 6000 minibus taxis.

All of SA car hire fleets will be hired out completely, together with the tourism industry's charter and shuttle fleets," he said. The 2010 World Cup was expected to take place "somewhere between the second week of June and the second week of July".

About 50 000 spectators would, on average, attend each match; about 3,2 million tickets would be sold, 70 percent of these internationally; and about 300 000 international ticket holders would visit South Africa, each attending, on average, four to five matches.

There would be a further 200 000 long-haul and cross-border arrivals without tickets.

Convince Fifa to set back the 2010 start date to late June, to coincide with the normal holiday dates.

The effect of such a move would reduce transport on the roads of the host cities, and make available university residences for use by visitors.

Transport wise, the busiest period day would be around Day 15 of the event.

Around Day 15, you will need an additional 26 standard 12-coach trains, carrying 800 passengers each, and 460 coaches of 50 seats each.

Big increases in capacity are needed at CT International Airport to enable itto cope with the tremendous influx of passengers flying in for the World Cup soccer 2010.

The airport receives 30 aircraft an hour compared with Johannesburg International Airport which manages 58 aircraft an hour.

Stuart Ratcliffe, manager of central airspace at the Air Traffic Navigation Service (ATNS), said that Cape Town International Airport could run into some capacity difficulties if initiatives to improve capacity were not put in place.

Ratcliffe said that the most effective methods of coping with increased capacity was to decrease the time between landings by installing Rapid Exit Taxiways.

The taxiways would mean aircraft could turn off the runway faster.

"This would mean that runway occupancy time is a lot less. It could increase the capacity of the airport significantly and could help for 2010," he said.

A senior manager of aerodrome safety at the Civil Aviation Authority, Gawie Bestbier, agreed with Ratcliffe.


Ratcliffe said that optimisation of airspace and airport facilities was up to the aircraft operators, Air Traffic Navigation Service, Airports Company South Africa and the South African Civil Aviation Authority.

Ratcliffe said that the introduction of rapid exit taxiways for example, was the responsibility of ACSA.

Deidre Hendricks, spokeswoman for ACSA, said that the airspace and runway at the Cape Town airport had sufficient capacity to meet flight and runway demands for at least the next five years.

Hendricks added that the airport would undergo many changes as part of its infrastructure plans for 2010.

SAA supports any initiative that would safely and effectively ease air traffic congestion and as a result, minimise flight delays.