Access to livelihood opportunities through MyCiTi BRT in Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

Bus-Rapid Transit systems are considered a promising tool to connect residents of urban peripheral areas with livelihood opportunities. However, there is a lack of qualitative insight into effects of BRT systems on accessibility, especially in the spatial context of low-density African cities. Therefore, this research aimed to examine the transport needs of residents in Khayelitsha, a socio-economic deprived area in Cape Town where a BRT system called ‘MyCiTi’ became available in 2013. Through a survey and in-depth interviews, it was evaluated whether the new BRT system was able to overcome barriers with regard to transport accessibility, and to what extent that opened up more opportunities. In the survey it was found that MyCiTi scored slightly better than Cape Town’s other transport modes on aspects of safety, reliability and comfortability. However, a statistical ANOVA test showed only a significant outcome for the train in comparison to the other modes of transport. Among taxi, Golden Arrow and MyCiTi no significant differences were observed. Thus, the train was considered significantly less accessible than Cape Town’s other modes of transport. Furthermore, through the interviews it was found that accessibility is generally unacceptably low for residents of Khayelitsha. Users of all modes of public transport experience severe difficulties while attempting to reach employment and other daily activities as a result of unsafety, long travel times and high travel costs. Mainly due to a challenging geographical layout and social context, the implementation of a BRT system could not contribute to increase livelihood opportunities in this particular case-study. However, it should be recognized that it has an important role in consolidating the existing livelihood opportunities.