South African party ActionSA has proposed making weekday rides on MyCiTi buses free for Cape Town residents if elected. The initiative was presented by Member of Parliament and the party’s candidate for mayor of Cape Town, Dereleen James.
As TimesLIVE reports, the proposal is part of ActionSA’s election campaign under the slogan of making Cape Town affordable to live in again. The party plans to announce a number of further measures over the next three weeks.
The party’s calculations
According to ActionSA’s calculations, the MyCiTi bus network makes approximately 65,000 passenger trips daily. Its operating costs in the 2024–2025 financial year amounted to 1.7 billion rand, while fare revenue was 336 million rand.
James said that this revenue equals 0.52% of the city’s total annual expenditure, which, according to figures she cited, amounted to 64.341 billion rand. She also said that Cape Town residents spend a disproportionately large share of household income on transport, while drivers in the city spend an average of 96 hours a year in traffic congestion.
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Tourist levy and a single card
ActionSA proposes funding free weekday travel through a tourist levy on short-term accommodation. James estimates that a levy of 100 rand per tourist per night could generate between 975 million and 1.3 billion rand annually.
The estimate is based on an assumption of about 26,000 short-term rental properties, 250 booked nights per year, and one to two guests per booking. According to the party, these revenues would be more than sufficient to offset the loss of income from abolishing fares.
In addition, ActionSA intends to work on introducing the MyCape Card for integrated payment and transfers between the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, MyCiTi and minibus taxis.
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