The City of Cape Town urges motorists not to drive in the MyCiTi dedicated red bus lanes.
Councillor Brett Herron, Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Roads and Stormwater, says: “It is against the law for any vehicle -apart from MyCiTi buses and duly authorised vehicles, to drive in the red MyCiTi bus lanes. The MyCiTi service is a BRT (bus rapid transit) project. BRT is swiftly becoming a significant achievable and sustainable mass transit mode across the world. What sets it apart from other bus services, and what makes it a successful public transport mode, is the headway advantage the dedicated lanes provide. When motorists drive in these lanes they compromise the efficacy of the system and they undermine our investment in public transport.”
The City’s Traffic Services Department has issued a number of traffic fines – each amounting to R300 – for motorists who have been caught driving in the dedicated MyCiTi bus lanes.
On January 25 alone, the Ghost Squad trapped 104 motorists for driving in the bus lane next to Stadium Station. Of these 104 vehicles illegally making use of the red lane, only two were minibus-taxis, and the rest were privately owned vehicles.
“I requested Traffic Services to investigate after I had received a number of complaints, and tweets, about private cars using the dedicated lanes. I was shocked and disappointed by the high number of motorists that were caught driving in the dedicated bus lane. It is unacceptable that motorists are showing such a high disregard for the law.
“In the interests of the sustainability of the City and the future success of public transport we urge motorists to stay out of the bus lanes. Driving in the lanes distorts the system. If the service is no longer able to provide the advantages of on-time arrivals and departures, and better headway than sitting in the traffic, we will not achieve our public transport objectives and this will be to the detriment of us all. Only MyCiTi buses and authorised vehicles are allowed on our dedicated lanes. Any other vehicles caught driving in these lanes, will be stopped by law enforcement officials and they will be fined,” said Councillor Herron.
As part of the MyCiTi Public Transport Service, a number of dedicated bus lanes have been constructed around Cape Town. This includes lanes on either side of the Thibault Square and Stadium Stations, around the traffic circles in Adderley Street, next to the Civic Centre station, and out through Paarden Eiland and on the R27. These lanes are red in colour, and have the word ‘BUS’ painted on them. The lanes allow buses to travel rapidly between destinations.
Other special traffic measures were also introduced to facilitate the safe and rapid movement of MyCiTi buses. This includes ‘pre-signal’ traffic lights, located approximately 50m ahead of normal traffic intersections, mostly seen on the R27, and ‘no turning’ signs to prevent motorists from crossing a dedicated bus lane, such as close to Thibault Station on Hans Strijdom Avenue. Ignoring these traffic measures is also an offence, and liable for a fine.
