Cape Town - The City of Cape Town says it will be making provision for up to R6.6 million to pay for and subsidise bus rides for unemployed people in Cape Town.
The Cape Times has reliably learnt that a major change in the city budget on Tuesday will be a proposal from the Transport and Urban Development Authority of Cape Town for a reduction of up to R6.6m on the Concessionary Travel Revenue budget.
“This is aimed at promoting access to transport for job seekers to enable them to access opportunities easier,” the city source said.
The source added: “Many people are giving up looking for work because travel costs are a barrier. We want to implement this initiative to take away the barrier of travel costs which sometimes prevents people from being able to access job opportunities.”
The city will introduce the free service during off-peak hours. What it means is that residents travelling on the MyCiTi buses between 10am and 3.30pm can get a MyConnect card.
“They can tap in and tap out but they will not be charged for their trip.
“This is specifically aimed at job seekers and is another contribution from the city to creating an enabling environment to encourage economic growth and job creation,” the source said.
The city said plans were under way for the initiative to come into effect by the end of September.
“This is part of our manifesto commitment to residents, where we said we are going to give job seekers free access to transport.”