The official launch of the much-anticipated ‘Transport for Cape Town’ took place on Thursday, 18 October at the City Hall followed by a transport parade through the city.
In attendance was Cape Town’s Executive Mayor, Alderman Patricia de Lille and Councillor Brett Herron, Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Roads and Stormwater, the National Minister of Transport, Ben Martins and the Provincial MEC for Transport and Public Works, Robin Carlisle amongst others.
Transport for Cape Town is a local government entity that will transform Cape Town’s current fragmented transport system into an integrated, multi-modal system that puts commuters first – resulting in more efficient, affordable and safer public transport. Ultimately commuters will be able to cycle, use MyCiTi bus, Golden Arrow buses, take a train or mini bus taxi with a single ticket.
“Apartheid spatial planning divided us into separate communities. And to maintain that division, public transport was frowned upon, as were any potential connectors between diverse communities. Those decisions of ideology and planning have remained with us but building the future does not mean submitting to the past. It means understanding the past and working to change its effect in the present. So while today is about Cape Town, I think that we are making an important national statement here,” said De Lille in her speech.
Once the Authority has been established, public transport will be governed by one body and by the same set of policies and standards for all train, bus and mini-bus taxi operators – in effect shifting the focus of transport governance from the operator to the commuter.
“It is our pledge to the people of Cape Town to employ a decent public transport service to fundamentally change the fabric of our city, so that we make it economically, environmentally and socially sustainable and so that every resident can experience our city as one of the most liveable cities in the world.
“Our vision is for a commuter-focused, integrated, multi-modal public transport service, universally accessible to all, within 500m of nearly every home,” says Councillor Herron.
The vision for Transport for Cape Town is of ONEs:
ONE public transport network
ONE timetable
ONE ticket
ONE fare
ONE standard for infrastructure operations
ONE communications system
ONE public transport brand
“In short, public transport integration, or our vision of ONE’s, means our commuters will experience one public transport network that operates in a customer-focused manner, regardless of mode. This also means the harmonisation of timetables and connections, it means one ticket for all forms of public transport, and it means integrated fares across multiple public transport operators,” says Councillor Herron.
The City also signed a commitment with PRASA which heads Metrorail. Herron says a due diligence study into commuter rail operations and the rail subsidy has commenced and will inform a business plan for the future assignment of the rail subsidy function.
For non-motorised transport (or active mobility) the City has a comprehensive network of dedicated lanes planned for the entire city and is implementing this plan incrementally every year, so that one day soon these lanes will connect communities across the city to each other and to other modes of transport.
The launch of Transport for Cape Town was a highlight for the City’s Transport Month celebrations and as such was followed by a colourful parade of the different modes of transport. Cyclists, scooters, Harley Davidson motorbikes and stilt walkers were all led by a Minstrel troupe performing.
“A decent public transport system has the power to transform the form of our city as we encourage transit orientated development at public transport hubs and along public transport trunks. In this way we will also start to address the inefficiencies and inequalities of our spatial design, we will succeed in moving more people from private car to public transport, and we will secure the sustainability and viability of the very same public transport system and the future of our city,” concluded Councillor Herron.
