The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas went out to see the MyCiTi buses that are currently being refurbished at the Prestwich depot last week. The City’s Public Transport Fleet Management department works hard at completing full and partial bus refurbishments as well as important maintenance work throughout the year, while balancing operational demands to provide this much needed bus service to thousands of commuters daily.

MyCiTi buses work hard, and none harder than the ones serving the Atlantis routes and the N2 Express. The N2 Express carries thousands of passengers daily from Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha to the CBD, while Atlantis buses alone clock 4 200 kilometres every five weekdays. Across the entire network, MyCiTi transports 65 000 passengers every weekday. The demand for the N2 Express and Atlantis services is therefore exceptional, and as a result, the fleet that operates along these routes are now in urgent need of refurbishment.

‘We often talk about new buses and big expansions, but looking after our existing fleet of 347 buses is just as important. Last week, I visited our refurbishment depot for a behind-the-scenes look at the work that keeps our buses on the road, day after day. And while new buses are on their way to join the fleet, it's vital that our existing vehicles continue to meet the highest roadworthiness standards. The MyCiTi bus service is at that crucial stage of its life cycle where the fleet management team has the huge task of refurbishing the fleet while trying to meet the growing demand for the MyCiTi bus service across all of the routes. We are committed to improving the overall bus conditions and are working hard at getting each bus back into the system as swiftly as possible. I want to thank our commuters for their support and understanding. Once the fleet has been refurbished, these buses will be as good as new. Routine maintenance and refurbishments isn’t glamorous, but it is essential – and that's part of what keeps Cape Town moving,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas.

A full refurbishment of one bus can take between seven to 14 weeks depending on the size of the bus. That involves full interior overhauls; new seating, handrails, flooring. Every single component is inspected and brought back to standard. These refurbishments are being rolled out to all of the Vehicle Operating Companies that are contracted to operate the MyCiTi routes.

Another primary cause of disruption to the service is persistent vandalism. As a result, the available fleet is at times significantly reduced due to MyCiTi buses being attacked and abused. If the buses were being taken offline for general maintenance or necessary repairs and refurbishments only, there would be far less of an impact on the level of service commuters are experiencing. These damaged buses are then out of circulation for a long period unnecessarily which has a huge impact on our commuters as buses are packed to capacity with great delays during peak periods.

These buses are not easily attainable with the lead time on new buses being two years as they are bespoke vehicles that are manufactured for Bus Rapid Transit conditions to ensure we can provide universal accessibility.

‘The City is working hard at getting more of the buses back onto these routes after completing the refurbishments and repair work. We thank commuters for their patience as we navigate the challenge of ensuring the bus conditions improve while providing the transport service thousands of commuters rely on daily,’ said Councillor Quintas.