Ten new 12m MyCiTi buses will be deployed in Cape Town from late March to help alleviate the severe congestion being experienced by MyCiTi users. A focus area will be the suburbs of Table View and Parklands, and traffic along Gie Road and Raats Drive.

The City is aware of extensive delays being experienced in Table View, Parklands and surrounding areas particularly during peak traffic times.

The problem has been exacerbated recently by roadworks for the extension of the MyCiTi service on the West Coast and an influx of new passengers who need to travel to local schools.

“The City of Cape Town regrets the delays being experienced by MyCiTi customers in these areas. We have already implemented contingency plans, and we’re investigating other ways of addressing the situation and relieving the delays as soon as possible,” says Councillor Brett Herron, Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Roads and Stormwater.

In a longer term effort to address demand, new MyCiTi buses will enter service in March, while the fleet of 9m Optare ‘feeder’ buses will begin arriving from mid-2012 and will be introduced into the service as part of the roll-out of the first phase of the MyCiTi service.

In the short term, the City has arranged for an extra bus to help clear any backlog on the Parklands route. Alternate routes and extra stops are being considered while roadworks construction intensifies.

“We ask the public’s patience as we try to address the delays, and we apologise for the inconvenience experienced,” said Herron.

For more information on the MyCiTi system, visit www.capetown.gov.za/myciti, email myciti@capetown.gov.za or call the Transport Information Centre 0800 65 64 63 (toll free).