All of the City’s public transport plans revolve around and complement the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Strategic Framework which was adopted by Council in March 2016.
‘The TOD Strategic Framework is the City’s long-term development strategy. It prescribes how new developments across Cape Town should happen and how new and existing public infrastructure should be utilised to address the legacy of apartheid spatial planning, the high cost of public transport, and urbanisation, while also stimulating economic growth,’ said Councillor Herron.
In terms of the implementation strategy, the roll-out of the following corridors are prioritised:
- T11 MyCiTi corridor connecting Wynberg and Khayelitsha
- T12 MyCiTi corridor connecting Mitchells Plain and Claremont
- T17 MyCiTi corridor connecting Khayelitsha and Century City
- D12 MyCiTi route or Klipfontein Road corridor connecting Mitchells Plain and the Cape Town central business district (CBD)
- T13 MyCiTi route or Symphony Way corridor connecting Mitchells Plain and Durbanville
- Blue Downs rail corridor – a double-track rail link of approximately 9 km between Nolungile station in Khayelitsha and the Kuils River station with three new stations in between, namely Mfuleni, Blue Downs and Wimbledon
The National Treasury has, through the conditional Public Transport Network Grant, allocated R1,4 billion and R1,6 billion respectively for the 2017/18 and 2018/19 financial years to the City for the provision of public transport infrastructure.
It will take at least 15 years to plan and construct the infrastructure needed to implement the five new MyCiTi corridors.
In determining which MyCiTi routes to prioritise, the Transport and Urban Development Authority specifically considered areas where:
- the most residents would benefit from the roll-out – thus, the number of passengers to board the bus on a week day. The routes with the highest number of potential passengers were favoured
- the time passengers would save by travelling in a MyCiTi bus on a dedicated bus rapid transit route (red road), as opposed to using public transport in mixed traffic. The routes with the highest time savings were favoured
- the percentage of low-income households the routes would serve. Routes serving a higher number of lower-income households are prioritised so that the City can improve access to affordable public transport to those who need it most
- integration opportunities along a route where commuters have easy access to other modes of transport such as rail
- those currently travelling in private cars could shift to public transport such as the MyCiTi service, to travel to work and other destinations
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