Cape Town - The City of Cape Town has announced the resumption of the MyCiTi Airport service from today, ahead of the festive season.
The route was suspended in March last year, due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent restrictions on movement and travel.
Transport Mayco member Rob Quintas said they anticipated that local visitors and tourists from around the world would start travelling to Cape Town again now that life is gradually returning to normal and people could move around more freely.
"The MyCiTi Airport route is an ideal option for getting to the CBD from where visitors can seamlessly transfer to other MyCiTi routes that service other parts of Cape Town. It will be a delight to see these buses back on the road as it will signal that we are on track to economic recovery," said Quintas.
ANC provincial spokesperson on transport, Lulama Mvimbi, however, said it was disheartening the Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain routes have not been operating for over two years.
Mvimbi accused the DA of collapsing the MyCiTi bus services in poor communities to the detriment of thousands of poor commuters.
He said the announcement of the reopening of the airport route – with much fanfare during the election campaign – was a DA strategy to appease and blackmail voters.
"This DA gimmick must be rejected and condemned. We call on the City to revive the MyCiTi operations in Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain," said Mvimbi.
Quintas said buses will depart every 30 minutes from the Civic Centre and the Airport MyCiTi stations, between 5am and 9.30pm on weekdays and between 6am and 9.30pm on weekends.
Cape Town Tourism chief executive Enver Duminy said they were delighted the MyCiTi bus service would be resuming its route between Cape Town International Airport and the Cape Town central business district after more than a year and a half.
Duminy said it was a step in the right direction, as they anticipated thousands of people flocking to Cape Town in the coming weeks.
"The resumption of this route would allow travellers to access the many MyCiTi routes serving other parts of Cape Town, thereby allowing them access to the city's hidden gems," he said.
He said the decision was made at exactly the right time, and believed it would positively contribute to the recovery of the tourism industry.