CAPE TOWN – After a nearly three-year-long wait, the MyCiTi N2 Express has returned to service in the south-eastern metro, with the first buses departing shortly after 5am from Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha to the civic centre station in Cape Town on Saturday.
More than 6 000 commuters travelled on the N2 Express service daily, before it was suspended in May, 2019.
The service is operated by the City of Cape Town and its partners, the N2 Company equally owned by Lisekhonikamva (Codeta) from Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain Rapid Transit (Route Six from Mitchells Plain) and the Golden Arrow Bus Service (Gabs).
They aimed to have the whole fleet of 34 buses operational by March 19, 2022 during which the buses will travel to the civic centre station in the Cape Town CBD, via the N2 freeway.
The phasing of the routes will take place as follows:
• Phase 1: February 19 to March 4, 2022 (D01, D02, D04).
• Phase 2: March 5 to March 18, 2022 (D01, D02, D04).
• Phase 3: March 19 onwards (D01, D02, D03, D04).
“Commuters can find the time schedules and latest information about the routes on the website at: www.myciti.org.za or call the transport information centre (TIC) on 0800 656 463. The TIC is available 24/7,” said Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
“Commuters will notice that a number of bus shelters along the four routes in Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain are in a state of disrepair, due to vandalism and theft.
“We are prioritising these for urgent repair, but for now the service must resume for residents. I want to urge residents to support us, and help protect infrastructure that is there for their benefit, the mayor said.”
He said a combination of 12m low-floor buses and 18m low-floor buses have been serviced and prepared for operations, and bus drivers recruited and trained.
Cape Times