GOOD Press statement by Morné Joseph,
GOOD City of Cape Town Councillor
1 December 2022
The announcement by the City of Cape Town’s Urban Mobility directorate that much needed transport services on crucial bus routes are being cancelled is a massive step backwards.
The people of Cape Town should be encouraged to use public transport through the expansion of the network and services. Not discouraged through the cancellation or cutting back of frequency.
The airport service, which is a key route especially during peak holiday times, will no longer be running from today, 1 December 2022.
This is an extremely unfortunate development at a time when flights are picking back up for the festive season.
Through its participation in the Air Access project, run through Wesgro, the City is encouraging airlines to invest in Cape Town as a destination. Cancelling the Airport Service means the City expects others to invest while it disinvests.
It also comes shortly after other routes, including 114: Civic Centre-Queens Beach and 115: Sea Point-Civic Centre, were cancelled in September. On top of that, a number of routes have already seen a drop in service.
The City has blamed increasingly high diesel prices for the cut backs and called for more innovative solutions that will allow for the services to resume in the future.
However, public transport is a public good and therefore carries costs for the city which must be accommodated in the interests of improved and affordable access and mobility.
The reduction and cancellation of routes feed into the rising inequality in the city and shifts dependency back to private transportation.
Furthermore, this move has severe impacts on operating companies and staff, including some drivers who gave up their taxi businesses or other opportunities on the basis of a commitment to the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRT).
The cutting of services and thus the reduction in operation costs directly affect the future expansion of the service and undermines the confidence that stakeholders have in the project.
Earlier introduction of electric buses, pushed in 2017 by then MMC for Transport Brett Herron, would have been an effective way to reduce running costs and address sustainability.
The City’s leadership has had 5 years to resuscitate the introduction of electric buses. Beside the environmental benefits, they also provide predictable operating costs and are immune to fluctuating oil prices and currency exchange rates. But they have failed to do so and are now cutting services instead.
Despite the excuses used by the City, this is an unacceptable move and not welcomed by the community. On the contrary, we need more bus stations and routes to serve our communities better and not take away the service to the people.
Media Enquiries:
Morné Joseph, GOOD City of Cape Town Councillor
Cell: 0825261348
Email: morne@homesecure.me
Janke Tolmay, GOOD Media Manager
Cell: 0733671223
Email: janke@forgood.org.za