Almost one-third fewer commuters now use Metrorail in Cape Town
Metrorail in Cape Town has lost 30% of its passengers in a year. Delays and cancellations caused by arson‚ theft and vandalism meant 4.5-million fewer journeys were undertaken in October compared with the same month in 2015. "The reduction in fleet resulted in a drop in passenger journeys, i.e. October 2015 — 15.4-million vs October 2016 — 10.9-million passenger journeys‚" Metrorail spokesperson Riana Scott said. Meanwhile‚ the City of Cape Town’s MyCiTi bus service is cashing in as passengers ditch rail for road. In 2016, revenue rose from R16m in January to R19.4m in November — a 21% increase. Mayoral committee member for transport Brett Herron attributed the positive trend to the troubles faced by Metrorail. "Our data indicates that the income generated by the MyCiTi service increased slightly during the months of May‚ July and August‚" he said. "This could be as a result of the challenges Metrorail faced at the time and Metrorail passengers opting to make use of the MyCiTi servi...
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