Statement by the City's Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas

I am delighted to announce to commuters from the metro-south east that the MyCiTi N2 Express service will start operating on Saturday, 19 February 2022.

The first buses will depart from Kapteinsklip in Mitchells Plain and Kuyasa in Khayelitsha shortly after 05:00 and will travel along the N2 freeway to the Civic Centre station in the Cape Town CBD.

Last year I made a commitment to Capetonians that the City will do all we can to get the N2 Express service back on the road in the first quarter of the new year. We are now ready to deliver on this promise.

I want to thank our partners from the N2 Company who will be operating the service: Lisekhonikamva (Codeta) from Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain Rapid Transit (Route Six from Mitchells Plain), and Golden Arrow Bus Services (Gabs) and City officials.

We have been working non-stop over the past few weeks and I am pleased to say that all is on course for the service to resume. The bus fleet is being serviced, bus drivers are being trained and familiarised with the routes, and the vandalised bus shelters will be repaired or replaced in coming weeks.

Given the mammoth task, the service will resume in three phases, starting off with three of the four routes.

We will, over a period of four weeks, gradually add more buses to the routes as more commuters return to the service. Our intention is to have the whole fleet of 34 buses operational by 19 March 2022, if all goes as planned.

The phasing of the routes will take place as follows:

Phase 1: 19 February to 4 March 2022 (D01, D02, D04), which will be a limited start-up service

Phase 2: 5 March to 18 March 2022 (D01, D02, D04), additional buses will be added to match the increase in passenger demand

Phase 3: 19 March 2022 onwards (D01, D02, D03, D04), the D03 route is introduced as the service becomes fully operational

Commuters can find the time schedules and latest information about the routes on our website at the following link: https://www.myciti.org.za/en/routes-stops/n2-express, or phone the Transport Information Centre free of charge on 0800 65 64 63. The TIC is available 24/7.

Lastly, I want to add that urban mobility is the cardiovascular system of a city, it enables its residents and businesses to thrive and grow.

My vision is that commuters in Cape Town should have a wide range of choices in how they access opportunities. The return of the MyCiTi N2 Express service is a vital addition to our public transport offering. Before the service was suspended in May 2019 up to 6 000 passengers used it on a daily basis. We are looking forward to welcoming them back.

Source: City Of Cape Town