GOOD Statement by Siyabulela Mamkeli
GOOD City of Cape Town Councillor
5 December 2024
The GOOD Party will not be supporting the City of Cape Town Council item on the Rail Devolution Report.
As a party, we support an integrated public transport network under the management of the City of Cape Town, including the devolution of the commuter rail service.
The strategy was initially championed by GOOD Secretary-General Brett Herron when he was the City’s MMC for transport.
However, there is a fundamental flaw in the current rail devolution ownership models presented in the City’s first report.
They are the most costly and least likely to ever be implemented.
The city recommended that Council approves the development of a business case for the following ownership options:
Option 2.1: City of Cape Town owns, operates, and maintains the railway infrastructure and trains. The City of Cape Town absorbs PRASA personnel.
Option 2.2: City of Cape Town owns all rail-related assets, concessions stations, and is responsible for all train operations and maintenance, absorbing PRASA personnel.
Option 5: City of Cape Town procures a large-scale integrated and comprehensive concession.
If the City pursues these models of ownership we will never achieve an integrated transport network or rail devolution.
The correct model would be for the devolution of the rail network (the tracks and stations) and the signalling system to the City and to contract Metrorail to operate the rail service on the devolved network to the extent that Metrorail can.
The City should not own or operate the trains and Metrorail should remain a subsidiary of PRASA.
Where Metrorail is unable to meet the frequency of service required by the City’s supply and demand studies then the City must procure that shortfall from other operators.
GOOD supports the devolution of transport functions to cities as envisaged in the National Land Transport Act.
However as GOOD we believe there are other public transport functions that should be devolved from the Western Cape Provincial Government first, and immediately, if we are to have an efficient public transport network.
The National Land Transport Act provides for the devolution of the “old order” bus contracts – Golden Arrow Bus Services – from the Provincial Government to the City in order to commence the integration of services with the City’s MyCiTi services.
The mayor should resolve this long outstanding failure, with the Premier, in order to demonstrate that the City has the desire and capacity to manage modal integration.
Without devolution of all the scheduled bus services the demand for devolution of the rail service is senseless and is immediately identifiable as pure politicking by the DA.
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