MyCiTi bus service in Khayelitsha remains suspended

The MyCiTi bus service in Khayelitsha remains suspended, the City of Cape Town announced on Monday, 6 August 2018.

The City of Cape Town has suspended the MyCiTi bus service in Khayelitsha after three MyCiTi buses were stoned and two Golden Arrow Bus Service buses were set alight. The service will remain suspended until further notice.

According to @brettherron, there are no @MyCiTiBus services out of Khayelitsha until further notice#CapeTownTraffic @IOL
— Cape Argus (@TheCapeArgus) August 6, 2018

Two MyCiTi buses were attacked en route to the Kuyasa station shortly before the commencement of the morning peak-hour service in Khayelitsha, and a third MyCiTi bus was stoned along the N2 freeway just before the service was suspended. The torching of two GABS buses also appears to be directly linked to the decision by the mini-bus taxi industry to withhold their services.

‘I was extremely concerned when the City was informed over the weekend about the industry’s plans to withhold their services as from this morning, 6 August 2018. My worst fears were confirmed when reports came through about the attacks on the MyCiTi buses and the torching of two GABS buses, also near Kuyasa in Khayelitsha during the morning peak-hour period. I was also alerted to incidents of bus commuters being intimidated and being forced off buses at Kuyasa. We had no alternative but to suspend the D01 and D02 routes operating in Khayelitsha at around 06:30 this morning. Unfortunately, the MyCiTi service in Khayelitsha will remain suspended until further notice as the City is obliged to take action to protect our commuters, personnel, and assets.

Source: @MyCiTiBus ©

‘I want to condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the violence that is often associated with protest action. It is totally unacceptable that the MyCiTi service and GABS are being targeted while we are trying our utmost to assist commuters who are left stranded as a result of the minibus-taxi industry withholding its services,’ said the city’s mayoral committee member for transport and urban development, councillor Brett Herron.

The decision by the minibus-taxi industry relates to internal industry leadership issues, and it is unclear when these will be resolved.

Thousands of commuters displaced

‘The challenges Metrorail is facing at the moment have displaced thousands of commuters to road-based public transport, with the minibus-taxi industry being one of the key service providers. Our commuters are the worst affected by this strike action, and either arrive late or cannot get to and from work to earn a living. To make matters worse, those commuters travelling from the Metro South-east are now also deprived of the GABS and MyCiTi bus services as we cannot operate given the risk of violent attacks,’ said Councillor Herron.

The City’s Transport and Urban Development Authority continues to monitor the situation.

Commuters can visit the MyCiTi website on www.myciti.org.za for regular updates about the service; follow @MyCiTiBus on Twitter; or phone the Transport Information Centre on 0800 65 64 63 for all queries related to public transport services in Cape Town.