More than a month after the City of Cape Town implemented MyCiTi fare increases, organisers of the campaign opposing the hike say commuters remain under severe financial pressure despite the City’s insistence that the increase was unavoidable.
The fare increases, which came into effect on 1 July, saw the cost of the Monthly Pass rise from R1,000 to R1,500. Anastasia Davids, local councillor, activist, and one of the organisers behind the online petition opposing the increase, said the impact on commuters has been significant. “Commuters are frustrated. The increases are putting even more pressure on people who already struggle with the cost of living,” she said. Davids said the petition continues to gain support from commuters concerned about the affordability of public transport. “Signatures are continuing to come in.”
Davids said campaign organisers have yet to receive a satisfactory response from the City addressing the concerns raised by commuters. Despite the implementation of the new fares, organisers said the campaign would continue. “We will continue engaging with commuters and the City and will keep pushing for affordable public transport. Public transport is a necessity, not a luxury. Stop making it harder for ordinary people to get to work, school and essential services,” Davids appealed.
The City’s Mayco Member for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas, confirmed that the City had formally acknowledged the petition and recognised that the increase places additional financial pressure on commuters. He said the fare increase was triggered after diesel prices between March and May this year exceeded the threshold set out in the City’s approved tariff framework, requiring the implementation of Fare Level 7 from 1 July. According to Quintas, failing to implement the increase would have resulted in a budget shortfall and threatened the financial sustainability of the MyCiTi service. He added that the tariff framework allows fares to be reduced in future should diesel prices fall below the prescribed thresholds. Meanwhile, diesel prices increased by approximately R1,30 per litre “It is still too early to determine whether the increase has affected passenger numbers or Monthly Pass sales, and meaningful trends will only become clear over the coming months,” said Quintas.
Addressing complaints about leaking buses, faulty doors, overcrowding and poor customer service, Quintas said the City’s bus refurbishment programme is continuing. Last Friday morning, yet another MyCiTi bus broke down on the side of the road at the R27 intersection (photo above), leaving dozens of commuters stranded while travelling to work and school. “Enough is enough. Golden Arrow must come back. We are paying too much for bus services and receiving poor service,” said one commuter on Facebook. Another agreed: “The people of Atlantis don’t deserve this kind of service.”
