Cape Times - A number of improvements to the MyCiTi bus service – including a new stop in Atlantis – will take effect later this week.
The MyCiTi service will now also be offering more frequent buses on busy routes, the City said in a statement on Monday.
These changes will take effect from Saturday May 28, and are in response to the growing passenger demand for reliable, safe and affordable public transport.
Mayco member for urban mobility, Rob Quintas, said: “Over the past few months we have noticed an increasing demand for the MyCiTi service. We anticipate that the demand will continue to grow as we improve our offering, and also as the cost of fuel is forcing more private vehicle users to opt for the service.
“The MyCiTi planners at the Urban Mobility Directorate have looked into how and where we can respond to this growing demand and they came up with a number of improvements that will allow for more frequent buses along our busy routes within the inner city, ensuring that there are enough buses to get our commuters to their destinations in the quickest possible time.
“We will keep on monitoring commuters’ travelling behaviour and will tweak our planning so that we can align our service with commuters’ expectations. This is to also ensure we make the service as convenient and reliable as possible."
Additional buses will be added to inner-city routes including the 101, 111, 103 and 104 routes. Passengers using these routes will now enjoy more frequent services:
- Routes 101 and 111 will each improve from a service every 60 minutes to every 24 minutes on weekday mornings and afternoon peaks. This means that there will be a bus every 12 minutes for the many passengers who can use either route.
- Route 103 will improve from a service every 70 minutes to a service every 24 minutes throughout the day on weekdays and every 35 minutes on weekends.
- Route 104 will improve from a service every 70 minutes to every 20 minutes, all day on weekdays and every 40 minutes on weekends.
Route 116 will be discontinued and replaced with an improved route 104, which connects the Waterfront Silo to the Civic Centre station every 20 minutes, all day on weekdays. Passengers can also travel beyond the Waterfront Silo to the Waterfront station and on to Sea Point without changing buses on route 104.
Changes to route 104:
The 104 Sea Point – Waterfront – Adderley – Gardens – Oranjezicht route will be adjusted to travel from the Waterfront Silo on the current 116 route path to the Civic Centre station where it will terminate. The revised 104 Sea Point – Waterfront – Civic Centre route will, therefore, no longer serve Adderley station or travel onward to the inner-city, Gardens and Oranjezicht areas.
- Passengers on the adjusted 104 route, including those travelling between Sea Point and the Waterfront, can now catch a bus every 20 minutes all day long.
- Passengers at Adderley can still connect with Oranjezicht via route 103.
- Passengers at Adderley station can connect with the Waterfront station on route 113 or catch a route 104 bus from Civic Centre station to Waterfront Silo.
Removal of the Clocktower stop:
The temporary Clocktower stop at the Waterfront will be removed from the MyCiTi network. Passengers can make use of the preferred Waterfront Silo stop nearby; this will also reduce travel time for passengers on route 104 by avoiding the extra stop.
New stop for Atlantis:
A new stop will be introduced in response to community requests close to the intersection of Meermin Road and Nicobar Street in Atlantis. The Nicobar stop will provide easier, quicker and safer access to MyCiTi services in the vicinity, serving routes 232 and 244, and connecting with the nearby Atlantis station where passengers can change to other routes to reach their destination.
Cape Times