Orlando Pirates have joined forces with the department of transport to familiarise soccer fanatics with park-and- ride facilities ahead of the World Cup.

Mickey Modisane, Pirates' publicist, said the campaign was aimed at educating South Africans about the benefits of using park-and-ride facilities in major activities.

The Gauteng government and the City of Johannesburg are also involved in this project, which will see supporters leaving their vehicles at designated parking facilities and hop on to a city bus to the stadium.

Pirates will kick-start the project on Saturday night when they welcome Santos to Ellis Park Stadium in an Absa Premiership match. Ellis Park will be one of the match venues for the 2009 Confederations Cup and 2010 World Cup.

"The Park and Ride facilities will be beneficial for the supporters because it helps to reduce massive traffic that we experience when there are major entertainment activities," said Modisane.

"We are also aware that there are upgrades taking place at Ellis Park ahead of the Confederations Cup and the World Cup. Park-and-ride will also minimise the inconvenience caused by the renovations.

"Park-and-ride facilities have also proved to be a resounding success in some of the Fifa competitions. We thought it will be a great idea to start introducing them in our games now."

Supporters will leave their cars at Bezuidenhout Valley Park in Maricia street, Wits West campus in Enoch Sontonga street, Nasrec Expo Centre in Rand Show road, and Wemmer Park in Turf road.