Cape Town mayor urges urgent funding certainty for MyCiTi bus services

From Humble Pilot to Urban Artery

Twelve summers have passed since the first long, silver MyCiTi bus nosed out of Table View depot and rolled quietly toward the CBD. What began as a cautious experiment now underpins Cape Town’s public-transport spine: 23 million journeys a year - more than every long-distance Metrorail train in the country combined - flow through 42 enclosed stations and 42 km of sealed red-lane asphalt. Trunk services fan into 80 feeder routes that claw across the city’s poorest, most grid-locked corridors, and still 93 % of trips leave the platform within two minutes of the printed time. No other operator, public or private, can match that punctuality in South Africa.

The entire operation hinges on a single, fragile lifeline: an annual Public Transport Network Grant that dribbles just under R950 million into the municipal coffers. That tap snaps shut on 31 March 2025. Treasury has already told provinces that it will not be reopened. On 4 May mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis penned identical letters to transport minister Barbara Creecy and finance minister Enoch Godongwana warning that, without a replacement grant, Africa’s only profitable Bus Rapid Transit network will either be throttled back or switched off entirely. One in every two South Africans who board a BRT bus today does so in Cape Town. Pull the plug and the country instantly loses the largest climate-friendly, working-class mobility project it has ever built.

Numbers That No One Can Ignore

Open the city’s live dashboard and you will see that weekday boardings have climbed 68 % above the Covid-19 trough of 2021. The steepest gradient belongs to Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain, where commuters begin queuing in the dark at 04:30 to ride an express that reaches the Civic Centre in 38 minutes - half the time a taxi-or-rail relay once required. That demand convinced councillors to green-light a R7.1 billion, 29-kilometre roll-out across the Cape Flats. Elevated lanes now swoop over the N2 at Borcherds Quarry; fresh asphalt bisects Gugulethu; two multi-level depots are rising in Philippi and Wynberg. Between August 2025 and April 2026 the extension will unlock 30 new neighbourhoods and roughly 30 million extra rides a year, pushing the system past the 50 million mark and past Metrorail Western Cape in one leap.

But steel, concrete and tarmac are only the down-payment. With every extra kilometre comes the eternal operating subsidy. A fully extended Cape Flats service will need between R1.8 billion and R2.3 billion a year - three times today’s grant. City bean-counters stress that you cannot squeeze that sum out of the existing rate-base without gutting informal-settlement upgrades, fire-station repairs, library budgets and every other social line-item residents expect.

Where the Cash Is Meant to Materialise

Pretoria’s reply so far is courteous yet tepid. A leaked briefing note from Creecy’s office admits Treasury is “open to outcome-based criteria” but frets that bespoke metro grants could “fragment the single national fiscus model.” In other words, once Cape Town secures its special carve-out, every mayor with a bus lane might demand the same.

Commuters, Carbon and the Farebox Equation

Board the 16:25 outbound trunk and you will share the aisle with 112 passengers; 108 of them swipe weekly unlimited cards priced at R125. Those cards cap out at 52 rides a month, so the effective fare per trip is R2.40. The unsubsidised cost of delivering that seat is R11.70. The 115 Euro-VI artics that quietly entered service during 2023 - built by Volvo’s Durban plant and paid for through a R1.2 billion JSE green bond - displace 27 minibus taxis apiece. A University of Cape Town life-cycle study shows each artic saves 2.3 million litres of diesel and 6 200 tonnes of CO₂ every year. Multiply by the fleet and MyCiTi already offsets the carbon footprint of South Africa’s third-largest solar farm, merely by luring commuters out of taxis.

Yet politics, not engineering, could still derail the wheels. In the 2021 local polls the DA’s margin in Khayelitsha’s Ward 90 shrank from 23 % to 4 % - the very corridor where the new trunk will meet Mew Way and Spine Road. The EFF and ANC accuse the “minority-led” city of favouring BRT over rail and taxi upgrades elsewhere. The irony: the biggest winner from the Cape Flats extension would be a township electorate that has traditionally voted ANC.

Champions of the Status Quo

Inside the Urban Mobility Directorate planners have stitched together a 92-slide dossier modestly branded “MyCiTi: A National Success Story.” Their pitch is simple: Cape Town is the only metro that has ticked every box set by national policy - 62 % of riders live in households earning below R6 500 a month; farebox recovery sits at 45 %; cost per passenger-kilometre is R1.18 versus R1.94 for Metrorail and R2.31 for Gautrain. Among the eleven metros that once pledged BRT, only Cape Town and (partially) Nelson Mandela Bay remain afloat. Johannesburg’s Rea Vaya Phase 1C is frozen, Tshwane’s A Re Yeng limps along on two routes, eThekwini’s GO!Durban is more billboard than bus.

Lessons from Abroad

Curitiba, the Brazilian birthplace of BRT, stared over the same fiscal cliff in 2009 when the federal PAC fund ran dry. City negotiators persuaded the national development bank to refinance municipal debt at concessionary rates in exchange for transparent ridership data. Within three years the per-kilometre subsidy dropped from R0.48 to R0.31 (in rand terms) because operators could benchmark costs corridor-by-corridor.

Closer to home, Lagos last year issued a diaspora bond, raising US$300 million from Nigerian expatriates in the United States to finish the Mile 2-Badagry BRT extension. Investors pocket an 8 % coupon funded entirely by e-tag tolls inside the dedicated bus lanes. While Lagos still leans on oil-revenue transfers, the bond shows sub-sovereign transport finance in African cities is no longer academic.

Taxi Politics and the Art of the Deal

SANTACO’s Western Cape branch will not wave the extension through without two conditions: displaced minibus operators must receive equity in the new operating company, and Phase 2A stations must allow taxi drop-offs within 30 metres of BRT platforms. Talks have inched along since 2019. In October the city tabled a 25 % equity share sweetened with a R150 million recapitalisation grant. Negotiations restart on 25 June. City officials quietly study Copenhagen’s “Flex” buses, where former suburban operators tender for on-demand shuttles feeding trunk corridors. The model cut operator resistance by 60 % and removed the need for costly buy-outs.

Tech Tricks That Could Balance the Books

In March the city slipped a WhatsApp-based QR ticketing pilot onto 1 500 commuters. Boarding time dropped six seconds, fare evasion clocked in at 1.7 % against the budgeted 5 %, and eliminating plastic Mover cards would save R78 million - cash that could buy an extra 35 000 revenue-hours of service every year. Meanwhile, the Transport Authority has floated a request for 180 battery-electric artics with 350 km stop-start range. A solar-powered depot in Dunoon would charge the fleet, while the buses remain on the supplier’s balance sheet through a sale-and-lease-back, trimming 0.4 % off the city’s debt-service ratio.

The Final Countdown

Cape Town’s 2025/26 budget must be tabled by 31 March 2025. If Treasury has not signed off on Public Transport Fund allocations by November, the city must plan for a nightmare scenario: Cape Flats service frequency halved, 14 mothballed stations, fares hiked 35 %, roads clogging as commuters revert to taxis, and green-bond covenants breached. On 12 May the mayor instructed officials to run two procurement tracks in parallel - one that orders 500 new buses if the money arrives, another that cancels feeder contracts and sheds 1 800 jobs if it does not. Between those two letters - one dispatched to Pretoria, the other hidden inside a municipal hard-drive - rides the future of South Africa’s most successful public-transport experiment. When the last trunk bus leaves the Civic Centre at 21:30, passengers hope the red lane will still glow tomorrow morning.

[{"question": "

What is the main problem facing Cape Town's MyCiTi BRT system?

\nThe MyCiTi BRT system faces a significant challenge as its annual Public Transport Network Grant, which provides nearly a billion rand (R950 million) per year, is set to expire on March 31, 2025. Without a replacement grant, the city may be forced to cut back services or even close down this vital public transport network.","answer": "The MyCiTi BRT system faces a significant challenge as its annual Public Transport Network Grant, which provides nearly a billion rand (R950 million) per year, is set to expire on March 31, 2025. Without a replacement grant, the city may be forced to cut back services or even close down this vital public transport network."},{"question": "

How important is the MyCiTi system to Cape Town?

\nThe MyCiTi system is incredibly important to Cape Town, serving 23 million passengers annually. It's considered the backbone of the city's public transport, with 42 enclosed stations and 42 km of dedicated lanes. It's known for its punctuality, with 93% of trips departing within two minutes of the scheduled time, a feat unmatched by any other operator in South Africa. It also plays a crucial role in providing affordable and efficient transport to the city's poorest communities.","answer": "The MyCiTi system is incredibly important to Cape Town, serving 23 million passengers annually. It's considered the backbone of the city's public transport, with 42 enclosed stations and 42 km of dedicated lanes. It's known for its punctuality, with 93% of trips departing within two minutes of the scheduled time, a feat unmatched by any other operator in South Africa. It also plays a crucial role in providing affordable and efficient transport to the city's poorest communities."},{"question": "

What are the potential consequences if funding is not secured?

\nIf new funding is not secured, the consequences could be severe. The MyCiTi service might be throttled back or shut down entirely, impacting 23 million annual journeys and halting planned expansions. This would lead to increased road congestion as commuters revert to taxis, potential job losses for 1,800 staff, and a breach of green-bond covenants. Fares could also be hiked by 35%, making public transport less accessible.","answer": "If new funding is not secured, the consequences could be severe. The MyCiTi service might be throttled back or shut down entirely, impacting 23 million annual journeys and halting planned expansions. This would lead to increased road congestion as commuters revert to taxis, potential job losses for 1,800 staff, and a breach of green-bond covenants. Fares could also be hiked by 35%, making public transport less accessible."},{"question": "

How is MyCiTi contributing to environmental sustainability?

\nMyCiTi contributes significantly to environmental sustainability. The 115 Euro-VI articulated buses, built by Volvo in Durban, displace 27 minibus taxis each. A University of Cape Town study indicates that each articulated bus saves 2.3 million litres of diesel and 6,200 tonnes of CO2 annually. This means the entire MyCiTi fleet already offsets the carbon footprint of South Africa's third-largest solar farm by encouraging commuters to use public transport instead of private vehicles or less efficient taxis.","answer": "MyCiTi contributes significantly to environmental sustainability. The 115 Euro-VI articulated buses, built by Volvo in Durban, displace 27 minibus taxis each. A University of Cape Town study indicates that each articulated bus saves 2.3 million litres of diesel and 6,200 tonnes of CO2 annually. This means the entire MyCiTi fleet already offsets the carbon footprint of South Africa's third-largest solar farm by encouraging commuters to use public transport instead of private vehicles or less efficient taxis."},{"question": "

What are the plans for MyCiTi's expansion and its associated costs?

\nThe city had green-lighted a R7.1 billion, 29-kilometre expansion across the Cape Flats, which is currently underway. This extension is expected to unlock 30 new neighborhoods and add roughly 30 million extra rides annually, pushing the system past the 50 million mark. However, a fully extended Cape Flats service would require an operating subsidy of between R1.8 billion and R2.3 billion per year, which is three times the current grant amount.","answer": "The city had green-lighted a R7.1 billion, 29-kilometre expansion across the Cape Flats, which is currently underway. This extension is expected to unlock 30 new neighborhoods and add roughly 30 million extra rides annually, pushing the system past the 50 million mark. However, a fully extended Cape Flats service would require an operating subsidy of between R1.8 billion and R2.3 billion per year, which is three times the current grant amount."},{"question": "

What innovative solutions are being explored to ensure MyCiTi's financial viability?

\nCape Town is exploring several innovative solutions. These include a WhatsApp-based QR ticketing pilot that has shown reduced boarding times and lower fare evasion, potentially saving R78 million by eliminating plastic Mover cards. The city is also considering acquiring 180 battery-electric articulated buses with a sale-and-lease-back model to trim debt. Furthermore, officials are studying models like Copenhagen's 'Flex' buses, where former suburban operators tender for on-demand shuttles, to reduce operator resistance and the need for costly buy-outs.","answer": "Cape Town is exploring several innovative solutions. These include a WhatsApp-based QR ticketing pilot that has shown reduced boarding times and lower fare evasion, potentially saving R78 million by eliminating plastic Mover cards. The city is also considering acquiring 180 battery-electric articulated buses with a sale-and-lease-back model to trim debt. Furthermore, officials are studying models like Copenhagen's 'Flex' buses, where former suburban operators tender for on-demand shuttles, to reduce operator resistance and the need for costly buy-outs."}]