While the South African National Taxi Council was still in court to halt Sunday's start of Johannesburg's bus rapid transit (BRT) system, the city council on Friday signed an interim operational contract with a special purpose vehicle (SPV) company to operate the public transport system while negotiations with affected taxi operators were being finalised.

Phase 1A of the BRT system would displace 575 taxis.

The SPV is 100% owned by a trust, the beneficiaries of which are the taxi operators affected by phase 1A of the BRT system.

"In terms of the agreement, the interim company will provide bus operating, maintenance, as well as security services to the city," said the City of Johannesburg transportation executive director Lisa Seftel.

In turn, the council would provide the infrastructure for the BRT system, such as dedicated lanes, stations and fare collection systems.

The SPV would be paid a fee per kilometer, which was believed to be sufficient to cover its funding obligations and operating costs throughout the contract period.

Seftel said that this agreement contained similar terms to the agreement proposed to the affected taxi operators, expected to be signed before the end of the year.

"The SPV was formed as an interim mechanism to act on behalf of the affected operators. Once the city and taxi operators finalise our agreement, the new bus operating company will either take over ownership of the SPV, or it may form a separate legal entity to which the SPV will cede its rights and delegate its obligations in terms of the bus operating contract," she explained.

"Furthermore, the contract seeks to ensure the business viability of the bus operating company through a guaranteed revenue stream by using a per-kilometer-traveled model, as opposed to a passenger-volume model. This will protect the bus operator, particularly during periods when tickets sales are not sufficient to meet expenditure, but buses nevertheless operate according to schedule."

Interim CEO of the SPV, Jackie Huntley from the law firm Mkhabela Huntley and Adekeye, would oversee the rollout of the BRT bus service over the next six months.

"My task will be to . . . ensure that the implementation of the interim bus service is efficient and does not prejudice the interests of the intended beneficiaries who will be the final owners of the bus operating company, namely the affected taxi operators," she noted.

To date the SPV employed 75 trained bus drivers, as well as 25 additional staff members, all of whom had been sourced from the taxi industry.

Rea Vaya will start trial runs on Sunday, August 30.

Commuters will have the opportunity to use the system free of charge on its first day of operations between 12:00 and 16:00.

The BRT system's main routes will see specialised buses run in dedicated lanes, stopping at specially designed stations, located roughly every 750 m along the way.

The starter service to kick off on August 30 will run from Lakeview station, in Soweto, to Ellis Park station, also offering an inner-city complementary service. It will operate in two shifts, with limited off-peak services.

The full phase 1A, to be implemented by January 2010, will use expanded trunk and feeder routes, offering a three-shift operation with a three- to five-minute frequency during peak times, and 20 minutes during off-peak periods.