With just 10 days to go before the kick-off of the world's biggest soccer event to hit African soil, there is no question that the country is ready to host a spectacular and memorable extravaganza and with the teams steadily streaming in, the country's road and infrastructure systems look set to transport the millions of fans that will be travelling countrywide.
With a few days to the kick-off the Ministry of Transport has assured that the World Cup integrated transport plan is in place.
With around one million African visitors and over 400 000 overseas visitors expected, government has promised that train, bus and plane services will exceed expectations during the tournament.
"As Government, we are confident that the integrated transport infrastructure and networks of the country will meet the needs of the FIFA World Cup," Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele confirmed.
Government, he said has invested more than R40 billion on public transport infrastructure for the 2010 FIFA World Cup to ensure that the tournament leaves a "rich legacy for our country and continent".
Roads, rail and bus-route upgrades will provide an integrated transport system. This includes innovations like BRT, which include special public transport lanes and interchange nodes for commuters to switch from one form of transport to another.
Preparations made by the department also include a transport information website which World Cup visitors can log on to that would give them details of how to get to cities hosting World Cup matches, plan trips and have real time route and traffic information on host cities.
There will be planes in the South African sky 24-hours to accommodate match times scheduled and passenger movements.
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has upgraded its rail infrastructure, increasing mobility and accessibility for commuters during the tournament.
For intercity bus operations a fleet of commuter buses provided by established operators in the business and "midi-buses" provided by taxi operators would provide services. Fleet usage would be dependent on demand and ticket sales.
All modes of transport during the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be closely monitored to ensure that they operate efficiently.
Transport operations will be monitored by the national transport command centre, a 24-hour call centre and an interactive website- www.findyourway2010.co.za - which will provide web links to airlines and other transport areas.
According to the department, the transport command call centre will coordinate and manage the implementation of the country's 2010 transport plans in conjunction with provinces and host cities.
Real time traffic and transport information will feed into the command centre to enable quick decision making and responses to incidents, which will be coordinated and monitored by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) who will ensure appropriate traffic law enforcement on identified routes with high traffic volumes.
Routes leading to and from host cities, airports, hotels, stadia, fan parks, public viewing areas and other places of interest will also receive priority attention from our traffic law enforcement officials.
"It is not just about sport, it is now truly about Tran-sport", said Ndebele.
The infrastructure plans made for the soccer spectacular has steered the country towards the biggest infrastructure investment in history.
Over the last year, the world cup really has become a project of the nation- a project of building national unity and patriotism.
It's been a project of generating hope and recasting and repositioning South Africa as a country.
The country has come a long way since FIFA President Sepp Blatter opened the envelope in May 2004 which revealed South Africa as the first African country to host the soccer World Cup.
