Limited road space, one of the new seven wonders of nature in the middle of the city, an ocean on either side, and seemingly ever-increasing congestion.
This is the conundrum faced by Cape Town’s mayoral committee member for urban mobility, Roberto Quintas. The issue of traffic congestion in the city has long been a problem, and it is hoped that the investment in public transport will ease it. Construction of a free-standing elevated traffic circle has begun near Hanover Park, the first of its kind in South Africa. A bus station will also be built at a later stage.
The so-called sky circle is a huge undertaking — an elevated freeway about 6.2m above the ground and for the exclusive use of MyCiTi buses. Construction is expected to be completed next year.
By separating the suburban buses from general traffic, the city hopes to ease traffic between Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha, and Wynberg and Claremont.
“It is the most densely populated corridor of the city and also one that is heavily reliant on public transport,” Quintas tells the FM. “That really does create a much larger footprint for MyCiTi.”
He says the city council is also procuring a fleet of electric buses to help change the general perception of public transport. “We want to get people in suits and ties into the buses, not just the blue-collar workers. We want to see our buses filled with students, businesspeople and domestic workers,” he says.
Quintas says an automated fare system is planned. The current system of buying a R40 trip card is one of the “greatest deterrents” to using the buses.
Our poorest families are spending up to 40% of their household income just getting to and from work every day
— Roberto Quintas
He says one of the best ways to ease traffic congestion is getting people out of single-occupancy vehicles and onto public transport. “Our poorest families are spending up to 40% of their household income just getting to and from work every day.”
Quintas says the collapse of suburban rail contributed to the congestion. Recently, some of Cape Town’s suburban lines have been revived. “[It] is now making a very slow incremental recovery,” he says of rail transport.
There are also talks about the possible devolution of running the suburban rail to the City of Cape Town.
“Our road network is seriously inhibited because we have one of the seven wonders of the natural world right in the middle of the city, with the ocean on either side of it and protected heritage winelands. That means we don’t have much wiggle room for new infrastructure,” he says.
Despite this, the city has allocated about R2.1bn from its operational budget for the 2025/2026 financial year to road maintenance. Other metros, says Quintas, are prime examples of what happens when you don’t maintain roads. He does not mention it, but Joburg, with its notorious pothole problem, is one obvious example.
Quintas has model vehicles, including MyCiTi buses, on a table in his office. “You’d be surprised how many people end up playing with them,” he jokes.
His office also has a magnificent view of the foreshore and one of the main routes into the city. It is also the site of the infamous unfinished freeway. A priority of his department is to develop an integrated transport and land use solution for the foreshore precinct. A feasibility study is under way.
“The city has grown since those initial plans were signed off in the 1970s. We’re looking at all the land use around the city to see what route would be best to connect those viaducts,” he says.
This particular project, says Quintas, is being done in conjunction with the department of spatial planning & environment. “We have a few models that we’ve looked at already, and we’re hoping towards the middle of the year or just after to go out to public comment.”
At a recent city council meeting, his department announced that the proposed operational budget for the next financial year would be more than R4.7bn, which includes R1.7bn for operating the MyCiTi bus service across Cape Town.
Over the next three years, the city plans to spend R5.4bn on the rollout of the MyCiTi bus service to connect Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha with Wynberg and Claremont, and R88m on the refurbishment and replacement of the MyCiTi fleet.
Residents have until May 2 to comment on the proposed budget.
“Cape Town is a city of hope, and that is why many people are flocking to live here. With that comes challenges, but they’re not challenges that we see as insurmountable. We are planning for the next 30 to 50 years,” Quintas says.
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