OUTsurance today announced that Jacaranda FM will be the new media partner for the Pointsmen Project.
‘We are thrilled to have Jacaranda FM on board. They are a much-loved, well-known brand and we believe that partnering with them will take the Pointsmen Project to a brand-new level. Jacaranda FM has already brought exciting, new ideas to the table and suffice to say that Johannesburg and Tshwane motorists and listeners are in for a real treat,’ says Peter Cronje, Head of Marketing at OUTsurance.
‘When the Pointsmen Initiative was first launched in 2005, only 21 static pointsmen were deployed in Johannesburg. Today, thousands of Gauteng motorists rely on the assistance from a team of 232 mobile and static pointsmen to guide them through the chaos of morning and afternoon peak hour traffic.
‘Investments in technology now also allow for Johannesburg and Tshwane motorists to request an OUTsurance Pointsmen to be sent to a specific intersection, using the OUTsurance app.’
Cronje adds that ‘This project is about so much more than just alleviating traffic congestion. It is also making a worthy contribution towards job creation for people from underprivileged communities, and freeing up resources for Metro Police to use for by-law enforcement rather than for conducting point duty.’
Kevin Fine, General Manager of Jacaranda FM agrees, ‘We’ve always loved the pointsmen. They have become such an integral part of our everyday lives that I cannot even begin to imagine facing peak hour traffic without them.
‘We are extremely pleased to act as the media partner for this amazing project. In a similar fashion to our current campaign, “more music you love”, we believe that we should give our listeners more of what they want. Our listeners rely on us for up-to-date traffic reporting and we believe that the Pointsmen Project offers us a solid opportunity to take our traffic reporting to the next level. In addition, we also get the opportunity to get more involved with the community and engage with our listeners.’
Traffic Freeflow is an independent company that runs the pointsmen project in conjunction with the cities of Johannesburg and Tshwane. OUTsurance acted as primary sponsor from the very beginning of the project.
Negotiations started in 2004 with JMPD and the first group of 21 pointsmen were deployed in August 2005. Today, a total of 157 pointsmen are deployed in the Johannesburg area with 75 in the Tshwane area with 60 motorcycles travelling in excess of 70,000 kilometres each month.
Mobile pointsmen respond to critical hot spots via motorcycles where traffic signals are down or malfunctioning during the morning and afternoon rush hours. Static pointsmen report to the same location daily to assist with traffic congestion at assigned intersections.
For more information on the Pointsmen Project, please visit the OUTsurance website or send an e-mail to pressoffice@out.co.za.