Investigating the impact of MyCity bus routes on tourism accommodation

Abstract

As the world becomes increasingly urbanised so too does the number of tourists to cities. Cities with extensive, well-functioning intra-urban public transport offerings are believed to be more attractive to tourists. The need to provide public services for tourists and enhance their modal shift, from cars to public transports, also results from the growing concern around congestion, pollution and urban sprawling in most cities. Scholars have brought into view the link between tourists and public transport since the turn of the century. However, very few such studies has a focus particularly on intra-urban mobilities and these studies tended to be located in developed countries. This study focuses specifically on intra-urban mobility in a developing world context. A mixed-methods approach is used to examine the impact that the MyCiti Integrated Rapid Transit system has on tourism mobilities in Cape Town, South Africa. The importance of an efficient public transport system in Cape Town has been on the policy agenda since the early 1990s. The Energy and Climate Action Plan in 2010 proclaimed to develop a more sustainable transport system. Accordingly, the objective of the BRT is not so much to offer an alternative to the low-income commuters depending on the public transport services as to enhance the modal shift of the drivers. Except for the line connecting the airport to the CBD and the stadium implemented for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the network unfolded firstly in the northern part of Cape Town in 2011 as part of the Phase 1, where mostly middle-income and upper-income people live and where the main axis is regularly congested. It is also a very popular tourist area, hence the interplay between tourism and transport and how this can be strenghtened warranted further investigation. BRT stops were therefore designed in order to facilitate the drivers’ intermodality with parking bays nearby and access to non-motorised transports. The choice of this corridor also resulted in the overall urban restructuring of the urban space through the development of mix land-use. Since 2011 the network has been substantially developed at the neighbourhood scale – mainly through the implementation of numerous feeder lines. The Atlantic shores are also connected to the network, reaching Hout Bay for instance since 2014. The network development is now in Phase 2A, since the completion of the trunk routes connecting the townships of Mitchell’s Plain and Khayelitsha to the CBD since 2014. These two areas gather an important part of the public transport users in Cape Town and still do not benefit from feeder services. The following steps regarding Phase2 will concern the connection of Mitchell’s Plain and Khayelitsha – also known as the Flats – to the suburbs of Claremont and Wynberg – also known as the Southern Suburbs. Litigations about the eviction of residents in Wynberg along what was already identified as a main route for the development of MyCiti entailed delays. Phase 3 will see the expansion of MyCiti from the Southern Suburbs towards the north-east (Bellville) and also towards the north. Eventually in Phase 4, the MyCiti network will connect Cape Town to Stellenbosch while the line to Khayelitsha will be extended towards Somerset West. However these achievements are subjects to the financial viability of the current service, which might imply an ever longer period to implement the whole system. Not all these areas are necessarily tourism hotspots.