Cape chamber calls for second opinion on 'flawed' bus plan
The Cape Chamber of Commerce has slammed the MyCiti bus service plan, saying it could cost up to a third of the city's operating budget.
The chamber believes the business plan is flawed and is calling on the city to get a second professional opinion or an independent review.
But Mike Marsden, the city's director for transport, roads and major projects, said today that the MyCiti project had been independently reviewed earlier this year, and that the recommendations had been considered, and many of them implemented.
Yesterday was the last day for public comment on the MyCiti business plan.
The chamber said its analysis showed that the city underestimated the running costs and overestimated how many people would use the buses. While MyCiti was counting on advertising revenue of between R10 million and R20m a year, experts said that was wildly optimistic.
It said public transport subsidies from the Department of Transport were being reduced. "We must ask how much will be needed and where the money will come from. Property rates are already very high and we would like to know whether the city is planning to introduce new sources of revenue such as taxes on parking garages or tolls for commuter cars entering the city."
The assumptions in the business plan would have "severe financial problems for the city", Albert Schuitmaker, the chamber's executive director, said.
By the city's assumption of how many people would use the buses, most passengers would have to stand. "That alone would destroy the claim of a superior service," he said.
"Our reading of the 'business plan' leads us to believe that the city intends to take over and run all road-based public transport." This was an enormous task, costing "roughly equivalent to one-third of the city's R19.2 billion budget", Schuitmaker said. "The estimated cost of the full MyCiti project is R6.14bn a year in 2010, or 32 percent of the present municipal budget."
The city's total income from property rates, penalties and charges amounted to 21.6 percent of the budget, he said.
The chamber said it got the impression "that the city has already made up its mind and that the present consultation exercises are simply designed to meet legal requirements? and that the city has no real interest in comment".
Marsden said the chamber's input would be taken into account with all other comments in the revision of the business plan, before presenting it to the council.
He said the city was committed to creating a viable public transport system, funded primarily by the government.
Cape Argus
Posted at 10:15AM Sep 01, 2010 by Editor in Cities and Towns |