Cape Town - The City of Cape Town’s mayoral committee has approved a R35 million tender for the design and monitoring of the construction of bus stations for Phase 2A of its MyCiTi bus service between Mitchells Plain and Claremont, and Strandfontein and Ottery.
The full council will now have to give its approval for the city manager to conclude the contract with ARG Design CC - a company which was a sub-consultant to HHO Africa which designed the Phase 1 infrastructure.
The contract is expected to continue to 2021.
Council’s approval is required before concluding any contract that will extend beyond the three-year financial period.
The cost of the tender will largely be covered by the Public Transport Network Grant paid by the Treasury.
The total estimated cost for all infrastructure including stations of Phase 2A based on 2018 projections, is R4.7 billion.
By comparison, Phase 1A cost R2.9bn.
It is estimated that there will be approximately 20 median stations (a station located in the middle island of a double carriageway) in Phase 2A by 2022 - expanding to around 30 stations in another decade if demand necessitates it.
“While there are very limited risks associated with this tender, there are risks associated with the operating cost deficits that may arise once the Phase 2B of MyCiTi service is running,” said a report to mayco.
“This can be contained if the infrastructure is built in such a way that the current scheduled bus services are able to be used on the dedicated roadway.”
The tender award is being made despite a pending Supreme Court of Appeal case by the city, challenging a High Court ruling in favour of the South Road Family Association on the disputed Wynberg portion of the original route.
The families challenged the public participation process that would have seen them evicted from council homes to make way for the trunk route.
Council subsequently approved the conceptual design of the Phase 2A route in March, excluding the Wynberg section.
The T11 route will now terminate at the intersection of Strandfontein and New Ottery roads.
Mayco member for transport Brett Herron said on Tuesday that he was not concerned about the impact of the tender award on the pending appeal.
“The detailed design, infrastructure and facilities required for the roll-out of the next phase cannot wait. This would be prejudicial to 1.4 million people who stand to benefit from the MyCiTi service,” he said.
The appeal related only to the Wynberg section for which only one closed bus station was planned out of the 25 on the approved route.
“This equates to less than five percent of the tender and as such has very little bearing on this tender. The architects will obviously not work on that station or on any part of the planned route that has not been approved,” said Herron.
Separate tenders would be advertised for the actual station construction work once the design work had been completed.
Spokesman for the South Road Family Association Laurie Peregrino said on Tuesday that the association was not against Phase 2A because better public transport was definitely needed.
But the association still believed there are other viable alternatives for Phase 2A that would still service the community of South Road.
“Our problem was the lack of public participation and the methodology employed to get what they want. If the city has followed proper process then they can do what they want with the rest of it (the route),” he said.
According to the mayco report, it is expected that over time, the number of passengers using the route will grow, necessitating that bus stops be converted into stations.
This is justified only if the number of passengers boarding and alighting meets the threshold of approximately 500 passengers per peak hour.
The current running costs of an existing MyCiTi station is approximately R2.5m a year.
Cape Argus