New minibus-taxi initiatives in the city of cape town

Abstract

The City of Cape Town’s Urban Mobility Directorate is implementing a new range of innovative initiatives aiming to formalise, improve and integrate minibus-taxi services into its Integrated Public Transport Network (IPTN). The implementation of previous minibustaxi industry transition initiatives undertaken by the City were the building blocks to the advancement of minibus-taxi transformation strategies, which this paper intends to expand on. While some of these ideas and concepts have been presented previously, they have since been developed further and are now rapidly advancing, which includes the implementation of MyCiTi Metro South East Corridor (Phase 2A), connecting the Claremont/Wynberg area to the suburbs in the Metro South East of Cape Town. This paper provides a review of the progress made on a range of minibus-taxi reform initiatives the City is implementing and will further provide context as to how they aim to improve and formalise the MBT industry, by amongst other, integrating the operators into a bus rapid transit (BRT) system. It is worth noting that some of the initiatives discussed have not commenced or are in progress, meaning that the end result has not yet materialised. Reflecting on the City of Cape Town's Industry Transition processes, it provides for an excellent opportunity to involve current MBT operators as partners in ensuring an improved public transportation network for all.