The City of Cape Town has notified the N2 Express Company shareholders that it has set 28 September 2019 as the deadline for the N2 Express service to be reinstated.

The N2 Express service was terminated on 31 May 2019. Over the past three months the City hosted a number of engagements with the shareholders of the N2 Express Company with the intention to conclude a new agreement that would see the service reinstated as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, the engagements have not yielded a positive outcome as yet. One of the shareholders, namely CODETA, has also failed to attend some of the scheduled meetings aimed at resolving the matters at hand.

The suspension of the N2 Express service has had, and is still having, a devastating impact on commuters from Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain who were relying on this service to travel to and from the Cape Town central business district.

Also, over the past few months commuters from Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha have expressed their concern about the suspension of the service on several platforms. They have appealed to officials from the City’s Transport Directorate, as well as MyCiTi personnel and others, to do all we can to resume the MyCiTi bus service to these areas.

To date, the City has tried to accommodate the N2 Express Company and its shareholders as best we can. This was in an effort to conclude a new agreement. However, the continuous delays have become untenable.

The City must reinstate the N2 Express service as a matter of urgency.

We have sent a letter to the three shareholders – namely CODETA, Route 6 Taxi Association, and the Golden Arrow Bus Service – indicating that the buses must be back on the road by 28 September 2019.

The shareholders have been advised to submit an internal agreement to the City which will see the service reinstated on or before this deadline.

Failing to do so, the City will have no choice but to pursue alternatives, which may include:

• a procurement process to secure the services of a vehicle operating company to operate the N2 Express Service; and
• the appointment of a suitable service provider through the appropriate supply chain management processes to operate the service on a temporary basis until such time as the new vehicle operating company has been appointed.

The City remains committed to concluding a new agreement with the N2 Express Company. However, we must and will pursue alternative options for the reinstatement of the N2 Express service, should the N2 Express Company fail to meet the set deadline.