GOOD Speech by Brett Herron,
GOOD Secretary-General & Member of the Western Cape Parliament
25 September 2025
Note to editor: This speech was delivered by GOOD Secretary-General & Member of the Western Cape Parliament Brett Herron during today’s interpellation debate on Dial-a-Ride
Dial-a-Ride is a unique door-to-door public transport service for persons living with a disability that makes it impossible for them to use other forms of public transport.
It is unique because it is a service very few places in the world provide.
This service was started as a joint venture between the Western Cape Government and the City of Cape Town more than 20 years ago.
It is a service we should proudly protect because it addresses the inequality of physical ability – something no-one can change.
It has always been oversubscribed and the two governments used to work together to increase access to the service for those who need it most.
No-one was ever unilaterally, and cruelly, removed from access.
At one stage users were assessed by occupational therapists to check whether they could move to other public transport as universally accessible public transport was rolled out – for example the MyCiTi bus system is supposed to be universally accessible.
We are living through turbulent and difficult times yetordinary people still rise each day to face their responsibilities.
For many, that daily act of resilience is already difficult. For residents living with disabilities it is even harder.
Yet they continue to push forward, trying to work, to learn, to live with dignity.
And how does this government respond? By stripping away one of the few lifelines they rely on. By changing who qualifies for Dial-a-Ride.
This decision has angered residents across Cape Town who depend on this service just to get to work, to school, to build their lives.
These are not people asking for handouts. These are motivated, hardworking individuals who have a special need.
Speaker, I ask the Minister: how will this be fixed?
We are told there is a R12 million shortfall per year. Yet the combined budgets of the City and Province total nearly R200 billion for this year alone. R12 million is not even a drop, it is a rounding error.
And now, some of our most vulnerable citizens are left stranded, denied the chance to learn, to work, to participate fully in society, because we cannot fund accessible transport.
This Province boasts of being the “best-run” in South Africa.
Cape Town boasts of being the “best-run” municipality. But when it comes to dignity, when it comes to protecting the vulnerable, those boasts collapse.
If the Minister has a real plan to protect citizens with disabilities, we are listening.
But while residents continue to call us, still stranded despite the court’s ruling, Speaker, we cannot be silent.
This is a relatively small problem to fix – if we want to.
This government contributes R200 to every Dial-a-Ride trip, 27% of the cost.
That is not insignificant. It also means the Province cannot wash its hands of responsibility and pin this crisis solely on the City of Cape Town.
In 2021, the Province rebranded itself with a new slogan: “FOR YOU.”
Those words are plastered on billboards, offices, and press releases to signal care for people of this Province.
But when it comes to residents with disabilities, that care disappears.
The cuts to Dial-a-Ride and the tightening of eligibility expose the truth: a lack of dignity, hidden behind budget excuses.
Budgets are political. Any government can make promises, draft policies, and craft slogans. But if the budget does not back those promises, they are nothing more than hollow words.
The City’s 2025/2026 budget is R84.1 billion. The Province’s budget is R89.3 billion. Yet somehow, we are told that R12 million a year, to safeguard dignity for people with disabilities, is a bridge too far.
This Province has allocated R10 million a year to this service – every year without adjustment.
When you don’t adjust your contribution, despite the inflationary and obvious demand pressures, then it is clear that this isn’t a contribution you make with political will.
It is grudge payment and that is a painful and insulting reality – not only for those who are wholly reliant on the service but for all of us who care about our fellow residents, their dignity and justice.
That budget decision is a choice. A political choice.
Meanwhile, disability groups across Cape Town are outraged, not just by the cuts, but by the insult of how they were communicated.
Blind residents were sent letters in PDF format.
Imagine being told you no longer qualify for accessible transport; through a format you cannot access. Does that sound like a government “FOR YOU”?
This Province can make different choices. They could protect those who rely on Dial-a-Ride.
Instead of endlessly blaming National Treasury, where the DA itself has a Deputy Minister, they could prioritize what is squarely within their mandate.
After 23 years of service – we implore the Minister not to treat the Dial-a-Ride service like they did the Blue Dot taxi project – something you start, then walk away from, and demand National Department of Transport must fund.
“Committed to making a better province FOR YOU” should be more than a slogan. It should mean action. Protecting Dial-a-Ride is one clear, urgent action this government can and must take.
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