RUSTENBURG: The Rustenburg Rapid Transport (RRT) hosted, for the first time the Non-Motorised Campaign in a form of a Cycling & Marathon Festival at Olympia Park Stadium. At this event, over one hundred and fifty cyclists competed in a fun race, set at over 21KM around Rustenburg, and over 300 Marathoners had the opportunity to choose between 5km Fun Run, 10km & 15km, routes that were created for the adventure lovers. The start and end of all the events were at Olympia Park Stadium on 30 April 2022 at 06:00, and over four hundred athletes participated in this first ever event.

Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) includes all means of transport that are human powered. Also, Non- Motorised Transportation includes Walking, Animal-Power and Bicycling, and variants such as Small- Wheeled Transport (skates, skateboards, push scooters and hand carts) and Wheelchair travel. People who commonly use NMT are commuters (trips to and from work), learners (trips to and from educational institutions, including libraries and sports fields), service users (these include trips to shops, markets, and other service destinations) and recreational users (trips by locals or tourists to recreational areas).

“With the system launch date drawing nearer and nearer, the RRT would like to emphasize fashionable traveling and how easy one can do it without a lift of a finger. This was an opportunity for our commuters to come and experience the brand, ask questions, and fulfil their queries by engaging with the team. We wanted everyone to have a fair share of participation and quite a number of interesting activities were lined up. Kids enjoyed interacting with the official Mascot, Warona, while adults enjoyed Aerobics, cycling, marathon and THE 360 Degrees Selfie Stand,” comments Theron Rapoo, Head of Marketing & Communications at RRT.

The day unfolded with a lot of activities, quizzes led by Warona, and entertainment provided by local instructors. “Successful public transport is important for any transport sector, especially with strategies relating to emissions reduction, road safety. Yarona will be a wonderful way to integrate public transport with NMT, delivering benefits for transport efficiency, pollution reduction, the local economy, and social inclusiveness. To make public transport an attractive and everyday choice for residents, Rustenburg has designed the service well, and planned to overcome physical and cultural barriers” concludes Rapoo.

Rustenburg Rapid Transport introduced “Team Yarona”, that consisted of 20 employees of the Rustenburg Local Municipality. The team finished third and managed to overcome all the barriers set along the route, while others formed part of the NMT experience by riding in the bus when tired. This event is looked to be held annually, making it grow and taking it to different parts of the province and city.