Ehrenreich did not support court action to prevent SANRAL from tolling the N1 and N2 freeways

The City of Cape Town has noted that the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in the Western Cape, under the leadership of Mr Tony Ehrenreich, is protesting against the implementation of e-tolling today, 7 October 2015.

This is an interesting turnaround from Mr Ehrenreich, who in September 2011 in Council, led the ANC to vote against the City’s intention at the time to declare an intergovernmental dispute against the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) and the National Ministers of Transport and Environmental Affairs about the Winelands Tolling Project.

Mr Ehrenreich then, on a second occasion in Council in December 2011, again led the ANC to abstain from participating in a vote about the City’s intention at the time to challenge SANRAL in court about the Winelands Tolling Project – a review that was granted to the City by the Western Cape High Court last week, and which stopped this ill-conceived project in its tracks.

Mr Ehrenreich claims to be a servant of the workers, but in Council he is serving the ANC who has implemented e-tolling in Gauteng. SANRAL was well on its way to toll sections of the N1 and N2 freeways in Cape Town, had the City not challenged the unlawful actions in court.

There is a clear conflict of interest in the positions that Mr Ehrenreich holds. Sadly, he is the only one who fails to see it.

The City of Cape Town is well aware of the fact that we need a safe, decent, affordable, reliable and well-run public transport system for our city and its people to reach its full potential.

Apart from the MyCiTi service, the minibus-taxi industry, the Golden Arrow Bus Service (GABS) and private vehicles, the greatest majority of Cape Town’s residents rely on commuter rail to reach their destinations. We are working with our partners at Metrorail and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa and, eager as we are to see an improvement, this competency falls outside the City of Cape Town’s responsibility.

Another area where the City can make a difference though – should the National Government allow us to do so – is that of the subsidised bus services. Of great concern to us is the inexplicable delay from the National Government to grant the City of Cape Town the contracting authority for subsidised bus services and the function of issuing operating licences.

Transport for Cape Town, the City’s transport authority, has now been waiting for longer than a year for the National Minister of Transport to approve the City’s application.

Once given this authority, the City will be able to restructure the Golden Arrow Bus Service routes and integrate the service with other modes of transport such as rail. This will go a long way towards improving public transport.

Despite the endorsement of the South African Local Government Association and the Financial and Fiscal Commission and the approval of the Ministers of Finance and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, however, we are still waiting for the National Minister of Transport to give us the go-ahead.

We have received no reason or explanation for the delay.

The implementation and gradual roll-out of the world-class MyCiTi service is a clear demonstration of our commitment to provide our residents with reliable and affordable public transport. To date, since the City launched the first of the MyCiTi routes in the inner-city in May 2010, the service has recorded over 32,5 million passenger journeys. 

We are now transporting nearly 59 200 passengers every weekday. On average, the MyCiTi buses cover a distance of over 1 270 000 kilometres each month, operating on routes within the city bowl and to destinations further afield such as Hout Bay, Imizamo Yethu, Hangberg, Atlantis, Table View, Dunoon, Century City, the Cape Town International Airport and parts of Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha.

Currently the MyCiTi service consists of:

- 31 routes with buses covering on average a distance of over 1 270 000 kilometres each month

- 42 stations

- More than 500 bus stops

- More than 480 bus drivers

- More than 222 buses in the peak-hour periods, transporting 59 184 passengers on a week day

The MyCiTi service is part of the City’s broader strategy of investing in the infrastructure that will help drive economic growth, development and inclusion. Affordable, safe and efficient public transport networks are also a critical element in breaking down apartheid-era spatial planning, and going forward we will focus on those communities who live far away from opportunities.

Issued by Brett Herron, Mayoral Committee Member: Transport for Cape Town, 7 October 2015