MyCiTi station in Adderley Street to revolutionise travel in and around the city

Adderley Street has been the axis of movement in the city for over 360 years, be it with horse and carriage, by bicycle, or on foot. Now, nearly four centuries later, the MyCiTi station in Adderley Street exemplifies how clever design, planning and foresight can bring mobility into the 21st Century.

‘The City of Cape Town’s transport authority, Transport for Cape Town, always seeks opportunities for easy and effortless transfers between different modes of transport and the MyCiTi station in Adderley Street is as close as we can get to the railway station,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member: Transport for Cape Town, Councillor Brett Herron.

The City anticipates that the proximity of the MyCiTi station in Adderley Street to the Cape Town railway station, Golden Acre bus terminus and the Station Deck taxi rank will draw a significant number of commuters to the MyCiTi service.

‘Although the MyCiTi Civic Centre station is only 400 metres down the road in Hertzog Boulevard, the commuters will see the MyCiTi station in Adderley Street as they step out of the railway station building. From there it will be very convenient and easy to catch a  MyCiTi feeder bus to Gardens, Salt River, Oranjezicht, Camps Bay, Sea Point, Fresnaye, Hout Bay and Imizamo Yethu,’ said Councillor Herron.

The MyCiTi station in Adderley Street is in close proximity to the biggest railway station in the Western Cape, where thousands of commuters arrive and depart every week. Furthermore, passengers arriving at the adjacent bus terminus and taxi rank will be able to switch over to the MyCiTi feeder service with ease. 

It is also expected that tourists will make good use of this station, given the tourist attractions such as the Slave Lodge, Grootte Kerk (the oldest church in South Africa), and the Company’s Garden in the vicinity.

Construction of the Adderley Street station commenced in November 2013, shortly after the relocation of Cape Town’s famous war memorial – the Cenotaph, erected to honour South Africans who died in battle during World War I and subsequent conflicts – to the middle of the Heerengracht, on the Adderley Street and Heerengracht historic axis, to make way for the MyCiTi station buildings and lanes.

The Adderley Street station is unlike any of the other 34 MyCiTi stations and has a unique design, given its proximity to a heritage site.

For example, the glass walls along the platforms are on the outside of the columns and not on the inside, creating clean lines with the Cape Town railway station building and other buildings reflected in the glass on either side.

Furthermore, the roof at this station is lower than those of the other MyCiTi stations as per the request from the provincial heritage authority, Heritage Western Cape, and the intermediate sections of the station are also covered – thus the whole station is under a roof over a distance of approximately 100 metres.

There is also a separation between the dedicated red BRT lanes used by the buses and the lanes for private vehicles and it has been designed to accommodate two red lanes in both directions (on either side of the station). The second lane is a passing lane, allowing the buses to manoeuvre in and out of the station without being impeded by other parked buses.

It was no small feat finding the space to accommodate these additional lanes, all in all four lanes in both directions, as the City could not remove any of the Milkwood trees lining this part of Adderley Street. In fact, the City had to move the centre line of Adderley Street to save the Milkwood trees which are protected in South Africa, meaning it is illegal to damage, move or destroy them.

As from Saturday 4 October 2014, the buses from Hout Bay and Salt River, and all but two of the feeder routes that serve the inner-city, will stop at the Adderley Street station. Thus, save for Route 104 (Sea Point, Mouille Point, Waterfront, Civic Centre) and Route 101 (Vredehoek, Gardens, Civic Centre), all of the buses serving the inner-city routes (102, 103, 105, 106 and 107) will stop at the Adderley Street station.

Importantly, as from 4 October 2014, the existing Hout Bay service (Routes 108 and 109) will commence at the Adderley Street station and not from the Civic Centre station. The popular Sea Point service along Main Road (Route 108a) to Queens Beach will start from the Civic Centre station and will also stop at the Adderley Street station.

Commuters wanting to go to the Waterfront can use the T01 and the 104-bus from the Civic Centre station, or disembark from a feeder bus at the Adderley Street station and just walk 150 metres across to the Thibault station in Hans Strijdom Avenue from where they can transfer to the T01 bus to the Waterfront station.

‘Passengers will find it easy to navigate their way as the City has installed way-finding signage at the Thibault station, guiding passengers to the Cape Town railway station and the MyCiTi station around the corner in Adderley Street from where commuters will be able to transfer to a MyCiTi feeder bus to other parts of the city,’ said Councillor Herron.

Previously the intersection at Adderley Street and Riebeeck Street was open, meaning that vehicular traffic could turn in or out of Riebeeck Street and Adderley Street. However, this has been changed to accommodate the MyCiTi buses and to provide a safe pedestrian crossing for the multitude of commuters, crossing at this intersection every morning and afternoon.

Thus, since the construction of the Adderley Street station, private vehicles cannot make a right turn out of Riebeeck Street into Adderley Street, neither can private vehicles in Adderley Street turn right into Riebeeck Street.

‘Adderley Street has been a public transport route since the earliest days when residents moved around in carriages. Today marks the latest addition to this transport history with an investment of over R45 million in a MyCiTi station – inclusive of the associated infrastructure and underground services – that will benefit all of our commuters, in particular those who live far away from the CBD and rely on public transport to get to work,’ said Councillor Herron.