The City plans to create a reversible MyCiTi bus lane along the R27 between Loxton and Broad roads in Milnerton.
The City’s Transport Network Technology department is doing final assessments along that stretch of bus lane to make it reversible by the end of the month, says mayoral committee member for urban mobility Rob Quintas.
A system designed by the TNT department would control and monitor inbound travel towards the Cape Town Civic Centre by MyCiTi vehicles in the morning and outbound travel towards Table View in the afternoon, he said.
“This system will allow buses to travel along the red lane towards the Cape Town CBD from 12.05am until noon daily. Then, the lane will be closed between noon and 1pm and will reopen again at 1pm to allow buses to travel on the red bus lane in the opposite direction, from the Cape Town CBD to Blaauwberg, until midnight. Digital notice boards will reflect ‘open’ and ‘closed’ or both ‘closed’, depending on the time of day,” he said.
The red bus lane would be used to its “maximum potential” and would soon have buses travelling in the opposite direction, towards Blaauwberg, he said.
MyCiTi passengers travelling to Table View in the afternoon would have shorter journeys in the afternoon peak with fewer buses in the general lanes, he said.
Other road users would benefit as the new system would bring smoother traffic flow, he said.
Two thermal artificial intelligence cameras at the entrances of the lane would detect unauthorised vehicles, reverse entry and entry-without-exit, he said.
The system would be monitored from a transport-management centre, using a bus-lane dashboard that could flag any safety concerns.
“For example, if a bus is counted entering the lane and is not counted leaving the lane within a predefined time of four minutes, it will be accepted that the bus has stopped somewhere in the lane and the alarm will be sent to the team. The lane will then be closed in both directions. The CCTV system will be checked and the operator will take the appropriate action,” said Mr Quintas.
Natalie Goliath, of Table View, who uses MyCiTi for her daily commute, said: “This is the best news yet. Someone with sense implemented this.”
Shaun Abrahams, of Milnerton, said he had started using MyCiTi and taxis after his car had broken down and had “enjoyed every bit of the bus journey”.
“Take the taxi’s off our streets for good, and continue with an efficient bus lane,” he said.
Milnerton student, Emily-Dee Truter, praised the City for its “hard work and forward thinking”, saying she did not attend classes at the same time every day, but she questioned why MyCiTi bus fees had almost tripled during the peak times.
Other residents sent Tabletalk pictures of unauthorised vehicles using the MyCiTi bus lane along the stretch of the route to be made reversible.
