UPS units installed at traffic lights

Road agencies in the

Johannesburg and

Tshwane metropolitan

areas are reportedly

installing uninterrupted power

supply (UPS) mechanisms

on traffic lights as a countermeasure

to power outages in

the cities.

A total of 40 uninterrupted

power supply systems

have already been installed

in Pretoria and 200 in

Johannesburg.

This statement by the

Johannesburg Roads Agency

(JRA) follows a report in the

Sunday Times newspaper

which highlighted that four

of Johannesburg’s major

roads – Beyers Naudé ,

William Nicol, Witkoppen,

and Malibongwe Drive

– registered an average of

182 traffic light outages

per month. This affects arterial

roads out of Gauteng as well,

causing further delays in the

movement of goods out of the

province.

Traffic FreeFlow, a company

which deploys points guards

in the event of an outage,

reported close to 45 000

deployments in Johannesburg

and Pretoria in 30 months (to

the end of June 2015).

According to Traffic

FreeFlow about nine out of 10

cases related to outages caused

by faults, cable theft or power

cuts.