The City of Cape Town has appointed a company to manage all of its public transport facilities as from 2 July 2021. Commuters using minibus-taxis, buses, and trains, as well as MyCiTi passengers will greatly benefit from this contract as the company is tasked with providing 24/7 security and cleaning services, general maintenance and management.
In prior years, the City used a contractor for the management of the MyCiTi facilities only. This service has now been extended to also include the management of public transport interchanges and minibus-taxi facilities which are frequented by thousands of commuters every day.
Although the City does not provide nor manage passenger rail, the Golden Arrow Bus Service (GABS), or the minibus-taxi services, the City wants to ensure that the public transport interchanges where these services operate from are safe, clean, and well managed.
The new contract is valid for three years, covering 103 facilities in total, among which 60 public transport interchanges and minibus-taxi facilities, and 43 MyCiTi stations across Cape Town.
Some of the services that will be provided are as follows:
• 24-hour security, including surveillance of CCTV camera footage
• 24-hour cleaning of facilities, which involves daily cleaning, hygiene services and waste management
• General maintenance such as electrical, plumbing, carpentry, fire detection and equipment, drains and gutter cleaning
• Landscaping where applicable, including weeding, pruning, composting
“Thousands of Capetonians use public transport to get to work and other destinations every day. Some use the MyCiTi bus service, others board minibus-taxis, GABS buses, or Metrorail trains. These public transport interchanges, minibus-taxi facilities, and MyCiTi stations are beehives of activity, and keeping these spaces clean and safe, and well maintained is extremely important.
Minibus-taxi commuters in particular will benefit greatly from this appointment as the facilities will be cleaner, safer, well maintained, and managed in a manner that will contribute to the overall commuting experience. In fact, all of those using these facilities, among which, the operators and the traders, will also benefit. We want commuters to feel welcome, safe, and at ease when they enter a public transport interchange, minibus-taxi precinct, or MyCiTi station. I am confident that they will see and experience the difference as soon as the contract is implemented at all of the facilities across the city,” said the City of Cape Town’s Executive Mayor, Alderman Dan Plato.
The City will conduct regular monitoring and oversight visits at these facilities to ensure the services meet the City’s standards, and may impose penalties for underperformance.The contract will be phased in over the next few weeks and it is expected that all facilities will be covered by 1 August 2021.
