N2 Express service may be disrupted from 1 June 2018

The City of Cape Town regrets to inform MyCiTi commuters from Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha that the N2 Express service may be disrupted as from Friday, 1 June 2018.

The N2 Express Joint Venture (JV) Vehicle Operating Company is responsible for operating the MyCiTi buses between Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha and the Civic Centre station.

The JV shareholders include the Golden Arrow Bus Service (GABS) and two minibus-taxi associations, namely Codeta in Khayelitsha and the Route 6 Taxi Association in Mitchells Plain. The N2 Express JV has been operating the four MyCiTi routes – the D01, D02, D03, and D04 routes – between the Metro South-east and the Cape Town city centre since July 2014.

The majority of JV shareholders agreed to extend the operating contract with the City, and therefore the N2 Express service will continue. Codeta, however, has refused to support the extension of the operating contract, and there is a possibility that the service may be disrupted as from tomorrow, Friday 1 June 2018.

The City will carefully monitor the routes and keep commuters informed as best we can.

‘The City has, for the past three months, hosted several meetings with the JV and the shareholders in an effort to resolve their concerns. Many of these concerns are for the JV to resolve, and we are convinced that with commitment from the JV shareholders, together with the assistance of the City, these issues can be resolved.

‘Up to 4 000 commuters from Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha rely on the N2 Express service to get to work and back every day. I therefore, again, request the JV partners and shareholders to please work together so that we can keep on providing the same world-class service to our commuters. We remain committed to addressing their concerns and to finding lasting solutions,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Transport and Urban Development, Councillor Brett Herron.

The JV and its shareholders are valuable partners in the City’s endeavour to provide a safe, convenient and affordable public transport service to the residents of the Cape Flats.

The roll-out of the N2 Express service to Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha brought new opportunities to the taxi associations in Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha who were affected by the MyCiTi route roll-out at the time.

‘Since 2014 the City has empowered the nominated board members of Codeta and Route 6 with extensive management and other training, as well as exposure to the N2 Express service operations.

‘We have also assisted former minibus-taxi drivers to receive training to operate and drive the buses that are currently servicing the N2 Express routes. We covered their training costs as well as the costs of other personnel who did courses in administrative duties.

‘I am thus eager to see the JV fully functional, as the shareholders are pivotal in the roll-out of Phase 2A of the MyCiTi service to the Metro South-east, Wynberg, and Claremont in future.

‘We share the vision that taxi industry stakeholders should run fully fledged vehicle operating companies, and we are working towards that objective. We have enjoyed a constructive relationship with all our operating partners and we wish for that to continue. We are also mindful that our focus must be on ensuring that our commuters are not inconvenienced. We want to engage with the shareholders to address their concerns, while the service continues to operate for the benefit of those who rely on the N2 Express service to get to their destinations,’ said Councillor Herron.

Commuters are advised to visit the MyCiTi website on www.myciti.org.za for regular updates about the service; and to follow us on Twitter @MyCiTiBus; or to phone the Transport Information Centre on 0800 65 64 63 – the TIC is available 24/7.