A reversible MyCiTi bus lane on the R27, which is intended to ease traffic congestion, is now fully operational, mayoral committee member for urban mobility Rob Quintas announced last week.
The City unveiled plans in June for the lane between Loxton and Broad roads in Milnerton (“Milnerton’s R27 gets reversible MyCiTi lane”, Tabletalk, June 19).
“This lane permits inbound travel towards the Civic Centre in the morning and outbound travel towards Table View in the afternoon. The alternating direction flows are controlled and monitored through a technological system designed and implemented by the City. Commuters making the outbound journey towards Table View in the afternoon will enjoy shorter journeys in the afternoon peak. And fewer buses in the general lanes will speed up movement for private vehicles too,” said Mr Quintas.
Joseph Mwangi, of Table View, who commutes using MyCiTi, hailed the development, saying, “For years, I would spend what seems like a whole hour just to get from Bayside to the Civic Centre. I know there is traffic but this all seemed a bit excessive. The problem would get worse because there are more and more people moving into the Tale View area, which means more cars on the road.”
Another traveller from Milnerton, Marcus Steyn, said he was worried about taxis taking advantage.
“We know how these taxi guys operate, and they will use this lane. If the City can get the taxis in order, then we will have smoother travel on our roads.
“I also want to point out that while this is a good idea, there are other issues like the lack of stations being protected in our area. There’s that vandalised station in Joe Slovo and the smaller stops inside that community that have been vandalised. And then there are those Dunoon stations vandalised as well. The City needs to make sure it can protect its infrastructure, and then we can fully trust this new operating system.”
In June, the City announced that it would be rebuilding the vandalised stations in Joe Slovo and Dunoon (“Wrecked MyCiTi stations to be rebuilt,” Tabletalk, June 26).
