MyCiTi the focus of Cape Town’s new public transport business plan

The MyCiTi bus system forms a major part of Cape Town’s public transport plans over the next 15 years due to rail network’s ongoing failures. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks

• R5.2-billion has been set aside for the expansion of the City’s MyCiTi Bus Rapid Transit system over the next three years. The plan to do so was passed a week before the current taxi strike in Cape Town.

• The MyCiTi N2 Express route, which shut down between 2019 and 2022, will continue to be part of the public transport plan.

• A mooted integrated ticketing system using one card for all modes of public transport in the city has been set aside in the face of Metrorail’s dysfunctionality.

• R455-million has been set aside over three years for non-motorised transport, but the plan does not state where this will be spent.

The almost total collapse of the rail system in Cape Town has led to commuters being heavily reliant on road-based transport, states the City’s new 15-year public transport business plan, which budgets R5.2-billion for the expansion of the MyCiTi bus service over the next three years.

The new plan, approved by Council a week before the current taxi strike started, enables the City to apply for Public Transport Network Grant (PTNG) funding from national government.

In his speech before Council, Mayco Member for Urban Mobility Rob Quintas (DA), said the plan “maximises funding sources, addresses projected deficits, and serves as a roadmap to uplifting our transportation landscape – currently more crucial than ever, with a collapsed passenger rail service, together with unprecedented growth in the metro”.

The rail service is run by the Passenger Rail Agency South Africa (PRASA) and the City’s attempts to take over management of their local Metrorail system have been snubbed by the national Department of Transport. Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis on Thursday announced the City will embark on an intergovernmental dispute resolution process after PRASA refused to sign a service level agreement on rail service for Cape Town commuters.

Quintas said the City was in the meantime committed to the long-term financial sustainability of the MyCiTi and Dial-a-Ride services which aimed to provide “safe, reliable, efficient, and universally accessible public transport … that redresses apartheid spatial planning, bringing people closer to opportunities”.

Dial-a-Ride is a dedicated kerb-to-kerb service for people with disabilities who are unable to access mainstream public transport services.

The plan states the main modes of public transport in the city are the MyCiTi busses, Dial-a-Ride services, Quality Bus Services such as Golden Arrow, minibus taxis, and Metrorail.

MyCiTi expansion

Quintas said the collapse of rail resulted in the majority of commuters relying on road-based transport.

The City’s latest Comprehensive Integrated Transport Plan (CITP) states up to 58% of commuters use private vehicles to get to their destinations; 22% use minibus-taxis; 9% use bus services such as the MyCiTi and GABS; 2% use rail (a 95% decline for the period 2012 – 2022); and nearly 10% walk.

Quintas added that the cost of operating the MyCiTi bus service have increased significantly due to the massive increase in fuel prices since mid-2022.

As a result, MyCiTi routes used by fewer passengers had been reduced or curtailed in order to remain within the operating budget.

He said MyCiTi tariffs had been increased in response to fuel price increases, and although the cost of diesel had since come down, the tariffs for the current financial year were now more aligned to the cost of diesel.

He said the City could now change the MyCiTi tariffs up to five times a year, whereas they were previously restricted to making a maximum of three changes.

“This will allow for more frequent adjustments to fares in response to changing fuel prices to ensure the sustainability of the service which is a key responsibility of this directorate.”

Meanwhile, the delivery of MyCiTi south-east services connecting commuters from Mitchell’s Plain and Khayelitsha with Wynberg and Claremont was “well underway”.

With R5.2-billion allocated to this project, known as Phase 2A, over the next three years, it represents the largest ever public transport infrastructure project in the Western Cape. Beyond this, nearly R57 million was budgeted for a new MyCiTi station in Maitland that would form part of route extensions between Dunoon, Maitland and Century City in coming years.”

The City also says that it plans to introduce new stops in Khayelitsha.

The proposed integration of the minibus-taxi industry and an integrated ticketing system working across all the different modes of public transport was still being investigated. It would “take considerable time to come to fruition, given the absence of a fully functional passenger rail service in Cape Town,” said Quintas.

Walking and cycling

The plan includes a R455-million budget for non-motorised transport (cycling and walking) over the next three financial years. There is little mention in the plan of how this will be spent, other than that non-motorised transport is part of the public transport integration plan.

Roland Postma, Managing Director of the Young Urbanist and Active Mobility Forum, told GroundUp that non-motorised transport was vital to making the city more accessible. He said many more safe and protected pedestrian walkways and cycling lanes were needed.

Postma said MyCiTi expansion was crucial but needed to overcome a number of challenges such as rising fuel prices which led to frequent cuts in routes and even the cancellation of entire routes, such as the airport shuttle route.

He said that while they were deeply concerned about some aspects of the design of Phase 2A, positive aspects were that it would “act as a feeder system to other public transportation nodes, such as the Southern and Central lines”.

The inclusion of high-quality non-motorised transport infrastructure within the Phase 2A design, such as separate paths for cyclists and pedestrians, was “a significant achievement that must be noted and celebrated”.

Having an integrated single ticketing system was key to creating a reliable, safe and accessible multi-use public transportation system. For it to be achieved, he said: “all spheres of government (need) to work together with the private sector such as taxi and e-micro-mobility companies, the focus for the City should be to make MyCiTi accessible when it comes to buying a ticket or topping up.”

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