More buses for busy routes

The City of Cape Town is continuously in search of solutions to improve commuters’ travel experience and to exceed their expectations. The improvements that commenced today arise from a number of passenger occupancy surveys that were undertaken over the past three weeks and are in accordance with the City’s commitment to providing safe, reliable and convenient public transport to all residents.

Route 103: Oranjezicht – Gardens – Civic Centre

The survey indicated that this route operates at capacity during the peak hours (from 06:30 to 08:30 and from 16:00 to 18:00) between the Civic Centre and Gardens.

Two additional buses which can accommodate 26 seated (including one wheelchair) and 25 standing passengers each have been added to the route to meet the passenger demand during the peak hours. The additional buses will operate between the Civic Centre and Gardens from 07:20 to 08:20 and from 16:00 to 17:15.

Route 106: Waterfront – Civic Centre – Camps Bay (clockwise)

The survey indicated that this route operates at capacity in the afternoon peak hours from Camps Bay to the Civic Centre.

One additional bus which can accommodate 26 seated (including one wheelchair) and 25 standing passengers has been added to this route and will operate between the Civic Centre and Camps Bay from 07:00 to 08:00 and from 14:30 to 17:00.

Route 107: Waterfront – Civic Centre – Camps Bay (anti-clockwise)

The survey indicated that this route operates at capacity in the afternoon peak hours from Camps Bay to the Civic Centre. An additional bus which can accommodate 26 seated (including one wheelchair) and 25 standing passengers has been added to this route and will operate between the Civic Centre and Camps Bay from 07:00 to 08:00 and from 14:30 to 17:00 as the afternoon peak hour in Camps Bay commences at 15:00.

Route 108a: Civic Centre – Queens Beach

A total of 11 buses operate on this route at an average occupancy of 68% during peak hours. As from today, three buses have been withdrawn during the peak morning hours (from 06:00 to 09:00) and during the peak afternoon hours (from 14:00 to 17:00) due to the lower passenger numbers that were recorded on this route.

Route T01: Dunoon – Table View – Civic Centre

As from 1 March 2014, the City increased the number of buses on this route from 24 to 38 during peak hours. The decision to improve the capacity with an additional 14 buses was taken after monthly passenger surveys and regular visual inspections confirmed that the average occupancy during peak hours at that time was close to capacity.

Since 1 March 2014 the number of buses during the inter-peak hours was also increased from four buses (one bus every 20 minutes) to 10 buses arriving at 15-minute intervals.

Despite having a total of eight of the 18-metre articulated buses which can accommodate 57 seated passengers, 72 standing passengers and two passengers in wheelchairs, as well as a total of 30 of the 12-metre buses which can accommodate 86 people (44 seated, 41 standing and one wheelchair), the occupancy rate on this route remains a challenge during peak hours especially for the passengers who want a seat or cannot travel standing.

Prior to the launch of the Dunoon route, all of the T01 route buses originated from the Table View or Wood stations; however, since the MyCiTi bus service was extended to Dunoon on 1 March 2014 this is no longer the case. Passengers who embark at Dunoon occupy the seats, thus the buses arriving from Dunoon during peak hours often only have standing capacity available.

Passenger surveys on the T01 route confirm at least 30% of the standing capacity on buses is still available during peak hours because some passengers only want to travel while seated.

The MyCiTi buses are designed and licensed to carry seated and standing passengers, as is the case with the majority of public transport services around the world. We wish to remind passengers that they should expect that commuting during peak times will not be as comfortable as during other times and that, most often during these times, a seat on the bus should be regarded as an exception, not the rule. As far as seats are concerned, preference should be given to older people, pregnant women and people with disabilities.

Nevertheless the City has, in an attempt to address this issue, been starting some bus services in peak hours from Wood station and Table View station.

The MyCiTi bus service is a world-class public transport system and these improvements confirm the City’s commitment to continuously searching for solutions to meet and exceed passengers’ expectations.