Khayelitsha residents and MyCiTi bus commuters have welcomed a plan to let unemployed people travel free on the bus during off-peak hours.
This announcement was made when Mayor Patricia de Lille delivered her annual budget speech last month at the Civic Centre in Cape Town.
Ms De Lille said the City had made provision for up to R6.6 million to pay for and subsidise bus rides on the MyCiTi service for unemployed people in Cape Town. She said this was aimed at promoting access to transport for job seekers because many people were giving up looking for work because travel costs were too high.
“We want to implement this initiative to take away that obstacle of travel costs which sometimes prevents people from being able to access job opportunities. While we will still work out the exact mechanics, what this means is that residents who are travelling on the MyCiTi buses between 10am and 3.30pm can get a myconnect card and they will be able to travel without being charged for the trips.This is set to come into effect by the end of September,” she said.
Vukani took to the streets of Khayelitsha on Friday June 10, to speak to residents about this proposed initiative. While many felt this was a great initiative, they also raised concerns about how this proposed plan would be rolled out.
