Hovercape Interpretive Centre and Hovercraft Terminal

Abstract

The roads between Bloubergstrand and Cape Town are very congested during peak periods. The R27-freeway carries more than 80 000 vehicles per day. There is a one possible solution and that is that another form of transport be created in order to facilitate public transport. The Hovercraft ferry service is a feasible alternative to solving the traffic problems. The Hovercraft Ferry Service would be a new ocean-bound transit system. It will serve the daily Tableview and Bloubergstrand commuters, linking Big Bay and the Mandela Gateway Terminal at the V&A Waterfront. The hovercraft ferry would successfully compete with the motorcar by providing safe, secure, comfortable, fast, reliable and predictable services. The ferry has to fill a specific gap in the holistic transport network of the area and it will assist in improving the image of public transport in South Africa as a viable attractive alternative to the motorcar. Apart from the convenience, and cost savings, Hovercape will provide a pivotal stimulus for economic and social development, as well as educating the local public on the history and importance of the area, in particular the Blaauwberg Conservation Area The client, Hovercape, would use ferries of 25m long and 11m wide, which can carry 140 people. It is proposed that the hovercrafts be used during off-peak times to carry tourists when not in use by the commuters. Robben Island is literally a stone's throw from Big Bay. at the Nelson Mandela Gateway Terminal, where the new inner city public transport route would operate from. The roads between Bloubergstrand and Cape Town are very congested during peak periods. The R27-freeway carries more than 80 000 vehicles per day. There is a one possible solution and that is that another form of transport be created in order to facilitate public transport. The Hovercraft ferry service is a feasible alternative to solving the traffic problems. The Terminal's location is in Big Bay, between Tableview and Bloubergstrand. It would consist of the Hovercraft Terminal as well as the Interpretative Centre under within the same building. The distance between Big Bay and Cape Town is 21.5km and would be covered within 25 minutes by hovercraft, and each terminal would be served by park and ride facilities. The client for this Interpretative Centre and Hovercraft Terminal is Hovercape Ferry Services. This "new" service is to be implemented as soon as possible since there is a great demand and need for an additional form of public transport. Capetonians have complained time and time again of the traffic congestion problem, particularly between Bloubergstrand and the city centre. The same has occurred between Johannesburg and Pretoria, where the development of the Gautrain Service between these two major cities is considered.