Cape Town launches rapid bus system MYCiTi

Cape Town's Integrated Rapid Transit (IRT) system, called MYCiTi, was officially unveiled yesterday.

Ready for the 2010 soccer masses, MYCiTi will provide a service between Cape Town International Airport, the Cape Town Stadium and the Civic Centre. A bus station has been built at each of these locations, at a total cost of about R78 million. The national Department of Transport has injected more than R3 billion into the venture.

The service will start running on May 29. The fare from the airport to town will be R50.

The buses will take two routes around the City Bowl, past guest houses and hotels, for the duration of the World Cup. During peak times, there will be a bus every 15 minutes.

Bohm, head architect of the system, said there had been many design challenges, among them creating stations that were "dynamic and distinctive-looking" and "built to last". They were also designed for passenger comfort and safety, with no artificial ventilation or hidden corners and with maximum transparency.

Buses are to be monitored by CCTV cameras and a metro police team is to be on standby to deal with criminal activity.

Ron Haiden, the city's acting manager for IRT infrastructure, emphasised that the new system was focused on accessibility, particularly for people with disabilities. A boarding bridge between the bus and the platform provided wheelchair access, and tactile paving had been used in all stations to help guide blind people to bus doors.

In the initial phase, due to be completed in September, new bus stations are to be built as far as the Bayside Centre (en route to Blouberg).

Plans for the next phases include extending the service to Atlantis and Dunoon and eventually Stellenbosch, but long-term funding has yet to be secured.

Haiden said the city was working on a costing model to set the maximum bus fare to any destination at R16.

Cape Argus

Posted at 08:03AM May 21, 2010 by Editor in Cities and Towns  |