Cape Town mayor urges urgent funding certainty for MyCiTi bus services

Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has implored Transport Minister Barbara Creecy and Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana for immediate clarity on the future of funding for the city’s MyCiTi bus services, Cape {town} Etc reports.

The plea comes as national funding for public transport undergoes significant changes, with the Public Transport Network Grant (PTNG) scheduled to be phased out, raising concerns over the viability of this essential transport system.

MyCiTi has emerged as one of South Africa’s standout public transport initiatives, accounting for a remarkable 42% of all passenger trips on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems nationwide.

With ridership skyrocketing by 68% since 2021, the service now sees an annual total of 23 million passenger trips.

This figure is projected to reach 30 million with the introduction of an ambitious extension into the Cape Flats area, intended to benefit over 1.4 million residents across 30 neighbourhoods, from the populous Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha to the more affluent Wynberg and Claremont.

However, uncertainty surrounding ongoing national grant funding threatens both the existing MyCiTi services and the highly anticipated Cape Flats route expansion.

Hill-Lewis has expressed his apprehension that proposed national cuts could undermine the funding framework for successful BRT initiatives like MyCiTi, potentially leaving it without a sustainable funding model.

‘National funding reforms are understandable, because most BRT systems in metros and large towns have failed,’ Hill-Lewis stated.

‘But some, like MyCiTi, have succeeded. The state should not throw out the baby with the bathwater by cutting funding to successful BRT services along with all the unsuccessful ones.’

He strongly supports terminating funding for ineffective programmes that have squandered public resources, but he insists that services that have proven their worth, particularly for commuters in lower-income areas, must be preserved.

In his correspondence with the ministers, Hill-Lewis called for long-term funding certainty and a performance-based approach to the new Public Transport Fund, which is intended to replace the PTNG.

He is also advocating for a reversal of cuts already made to the existing funding structure.

Joining the mayor in this urgent appeal is Councillor Rob Quintas, Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, who highlighted that the national cuts are detrimental to Cape Town’s exemplary performance in public transport.

‘R7.1 billion has already been dedicated to infrastructure for the new Cape Flats route expansion. The next step is to convert this infrastructure into actual passenger service, including bus fleet procurement, however this is now at risk due to national cuts to the PTNG,’ he cautioned.

Quintas further invited the national government to evaluate Cape Town’s accomplishments against similar efforts elsewhere, urging them to make funding decisions that serve the best interests of everyday commuters relying on MyCiTi.