The new face of the MyCiTi bus system, a mascot called Marvin, was launched at MyCiTi’s Civic Centre station yesterday afternoon. The Mayor, Alderman Patricia de Lille, and the Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Roads and Stormwater, Cllr Brett Herron, both spoke at the launch, describing the rationale behind the design, and praising the MyCiTi team for their hard work on the West Coast and inner city route – the pilot phases of the project.
The design for Marvin was adapted from an entry submitted by Capetonian Xin Zhang in the City’s public competition held earlier this year to find a mascot. Marvin is a humanised rendition of a bus. He is fast, friendly and fun – which is the message we want him to convey about the MyCiTi service.
Marvin will be used in marketing campaigns, but will also be a useful tool when visiting schools, educating learners about MyCiTi as well as more general topics such as passenger behaviour, and road safety. His role will be particularly important in educating users about the new and unfamiliar elements of the MyCiTi buses, stations and red lanes.
Marvin will help the City make public transport fun and easily accessible, spreading the message that using the buses saves commuters money that would otherwise be spent on petrol, parking and car maintenance. The service will also help commuters to reduce their carbon footprints, too.
To find out more about Marvin and MyCiTi, click here, e-mail myciti@capetown.gov.za or phone 0800 656 463.
