The City of Cape Town is ten days into its programme for Transport Month 2011, and has used this time not only for celebration but as an opportunity to gain a greater understanding of Cape Town commuters’ public transport experiences.
The focus of this year’s transport month is Public Transport, including both infrastructure (such as dedicated lanes, and transport interchanges) and services.
MyCiTi, Cape Town’s newest public transport service, has already seen its millionth passenger trip, with overwhelmingly positive feedback about the experience. The bus travels on its on dedicated lane, with a dedicated walking and cycling lane running parallel to the bus route.
Cape Town also has a BMT (Bus and Minibus-Taxi) lane, reserved for the exclusive use of public transport vehicles, carrying nine or more passengers, during specified times such as peak hours. These hours are sign-posted on the side of the road in the case of urban roads such as Klipfontein and Main Roads, and by overhead signage on freeways like the N2.
During these hours other road users are required to only use the remaining lanes for their travel. Outside of these hours all road users are free to travel in these lanes.
Particularly important transport infrastructure in Cape Town are the park-and-ride facilities, usually at or near rail stations, where people are able to leave their private vehicles while they take a bus or train. As part of Transport Month, the City hosted a tour for the media and other interested visitors to the Monte Vista park-and-ride, one of the facilities that is playing an increasing important role in reducing traffic congestion. The City’s long-term plan is to expand the Bus Rapid Transit concept, consisting of feeder and trunk buses throughout the city. A feeder system consists of a smaller public transport vehicle collecting passengers in a specific area and transporting them to a connection point from where they board larger vehicles on dedicated lanes, such as a trunk bus or the passenger rail system. The City of Cape Town’s Travel Demand Management (TDM) strategy, of which ParkRide is a part, also includes:
- promoting higher private vehicle occupancies
- implementing park-and-ride facilities
- travel planning for large employers
- marketing TDM and public transport
- developing supporting policies and tax incentives
- exploring a congestion pricing scheme
To participate in Transport Month, please visit http://twitter.com/CityofCT or join the City’s Facebook site at http://www.facebook.com/CityofCT.
During each week of Transport month in October the City will pose a selection of questions and would like residents to provide the City with comments and thoughts on the various topics. Click here to participate.
