Making well-maintained roads, efficient urban mobility my business
28 November 2021
Statement by the City's New Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Councillor Rob Quintas
I firmly believe that transport is Cape Town’s cardiovascular system. We need healthy arteries where the lifeblood moves without blockages and the integrated public transport system acts as the beating heart that connects people with opportunities.
Our road networks connect us and enable business activity and job creation. Its transport services keep us moving, and ensure goods and services are delivered. All cities need a healthy transport system to ensure the prosperity of its people.
This defines urban mobility.
Urban mobility is more important than ever. The more mobile our people, goods, and services, the better our chances of economic recovery during and post Covid-19. Productivity, job creation, and investment go hand in hand with an efficient, well-run, and reliable transport system.
Residents need a wide offering of transport services that are affordable, accessible, reliable, and a pleasure to use – be it passenger rail, minibus-taxis, the MyCiTi bus service, or e-hailing service providers. Our roads must be properly maintained and networks expanded where needed, and we must make it easy and safe for residents to walk and cycle to destinations if they so choose.
Thus, for this term of office I’ll be focusing all my efforts on improving urban mobility for all our residents by taking the actions needed to create an integrated public transport system where commuters can seamlessly transfer from one mode – be it rail, minibus-taxi, the MyCiTi bus service, e-hailing services, or non-motorised-transport – to another; to improve the reliability of our transport services, and most importantly: to bring down the cost of transport for lower income households who spend nearly 43% of their monthly household income on transport.
It is very simple: the more efficient our public transport services, the more cost-effective it will be – meaning, commuters will be paying less to get to jobs, schools, and wherever else they need to be. A single-ticketing system for all modes of transport, with one integrated schedule is crucial in establishing an efficient public transport system.
Herewith my priorities for this term of office:
First off, we are working on getting the N2 Express Service back on the road early in the new year, if all goes as planned. This will be a major achievement as thousands of commuters from Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha rely on this service to get to the Cape Town CBD. I am hoping to make an announcement about this soon.
Secondly, our passenger rail service must work – we will keep on engaging PRASA to see how we can help them with their challenges. But, we will also see what alternatives the City can explore to create a functioning and efficient passenger rail service. Passenger rail should be the backbone of public transport in Cape Town as it is the most efficient and cost effective mode of transport. The City cannot wait forever for the National Government to fix it.
The minibus-taxi industry is another vital partner in getting commuters to their destinations. I would like to see closer cooperation between the City and the industry as they also have a critical role to play in the future roll-out of the second phase of the MyCiTi service between the metro-south east and Wynberg and Claremont. We will further explore the formalisation of the minibus-taxi industry through the creation of taxi operating companies.
Phase 2A of the MyCiTi service is a major legacy project. We will be spending about R7,4 billion over the next five years or so to implement the service. The money will be invested in the construction of new roads and stations from Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain to Wynberg and Claremont and the acquisition of buses, preferably those equipped with green technology, to get the service on the road. This is the single biggest investment in new transport infrastructure in South Africa at the moment and I am extremely excited about the job opportunities and urban rejuvenation this investment will bring to Cape Town and its residents.
Then, on a micro-level, I will keep on focusing on the nuts and bolts of transport: to make sure our roads are well maintained, potholes repaired and stormwater infrastructure and retention ponds attended to where there are problems.
These issues have a direct impact on residents, regardless of where they live. Capetonians have high expectations of service delivery. My purpose is to make sure we meet and exceed these expectations.
In the end, we all want the same things: a safe and secure life where we and our loved ones have access to opportunities and the freedom to enjoy living. Urban mobility is the ethos that enables access to opportunities and I will make this my business over the next five years.
End
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
