Integrated Rapid Transport | WhaleTales Blog by Chris von Ulmenstein

The Golden Arrow bus company has responded to the statements made by Brett Herron, the City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Roads, and Stormwater about the delays in rolling out the MyCiTi Bus service on the Atlantic Seaboard, now four months behind schedule with another two or three months delay likely, due to legal posturing by Golden Arrow and the taxi industry:

“Golden Arrow Bus Services, has for the most part, refrained from entering into a war of words with regards to the Implementation of the City of Cape Town’s Integrated Rapid Transport (IRT) system and the MyCiTi Bus Service more specifically. We have done this for a number of reasons; firstly, the MEC for Transport asked both Golden Arrow and the City to keep our differences out of the media – an agreement which the City obviously has no intention of abiding by. We also believe that any changes to public transport that can benefit the commuters of the metropole should be considered a priority and we place great import on maintaining the symbiotic relationship which we have forged with local and provincial government over more than 150 years of operation. It is with great sadness, that it has now become necessary to speak out against the systematic besmirching of Golden Arrow’s name by prominent local government officials via the media.

It is all too easy to paint Golden Arrow as some sort of parasitic monopoly preying on the people of Cape Town because public transport is always going to be a grudge purchase, particularly for those people who spend a large portion of their limited incomes on transport. Increasing congestion, the underdevelopment of rail and a decrease in bus subsidies (which has limited the ability of Golden Arrow to meet growing demand) all play a significant role in the negative perception of public transport in the metropole.

Our passengers and the public never see the operational challenges that go into ensuring that in excess of 1000 buses are out on the roads during every single peak. Road closures, congestion, protest action and a lack of law enforcement of dedicated bus lanes are also significant challenges to maintaining a complex schedule of thousands of trips over 1300 unique routes. Our buses travel in excess of sixty million kilometres every year and carry on average 200 000 people on a daily basis, this takes an exceptional amount of planning and operational knowledge. In fact following an introductory tour of our operations in August 2011, Brett Herron, Mayco member for Transport remarked on record that he was “struck by the extent and efficiency of the operations”.

Furthermore, the Mayor of Cape Town, Patricia de Lille, in a congratulatory message for Golden Arrow’s 150^th anniversary celebrations thanked the company for its years of service and commitment provided to the people of Cape Town. Further stating that (sic) “Golden Arrow is a reliable, well-maintained company that has grown and helped to develop our local economy throughout its history”. As an employer of more than 2600 Capetonians, many of whom have spent their whole working lives devoted to Golden Arrow; it would be grossly remiss of us not to seek to ensure that their futures are also considered going forward. It has therefore been most disheartening to read reports calling for an end to the Golden Arrow monopoly and comments portraying Golden Arrow’s objections to certain elements of the roll-out of MyCiTi as a bullying tactic.

Throughout the planning and implementation process, Golden Arrow has simply sought to ensure that negotiations and contracts were transparent and lawful. For example, with regards to the objections relating to certain operating licence applications Golden Arrow firmly believes that all legislative prerequisites should be complied with prior to the application and/or consideration of any operating licenses, and that the applications in question should only be considered once the negotiations with the City have been finalised. To portray an objection to a bona fide legal discrepancy as bullying is misleading and simply serves to deflect from the issues at hand.

Golden Arrow is not an “event kidnapper audaciously seeking to withhold the extension of transport options”, we are a company with a 150 year legacy, whose experience in providing scheduled passenger transport puts us in a unique position to foresee potential challenges and snags. Many of these challenges are already becoming apparent in the roll-out of phase 1A, which has not contrary to popular belief been the magical panacea, which will cure all of Cape Town’s transport woes that some have painted it to be. Ultimately is it not most important to ensure that long-term public transport planning is sustainable and carefully considered in order to ensure that it doesn’t become a white elephant in years to come?

It is Golden Arrow’s sincere hope that a space for open and transparent dialogue between commuters, local government, existing public transport providers and all other stakeholders can be created going forward, rather than simply pitting parties that all have the same goal against each other.”

The Golden Arrow statement was e-mailed to Councillor Herron for comment a few days ago, but none was received.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage

Cape Town is bidding to be selected as World Design Capital 2014, reports the Cape Argus. The Cape Town Partnership is driving the bid, and its bid focuses on making Cape Town a better place to live. It is a pity, however, that the logo designed for the bid is so boring, and does not reflect the design wealth and creativity of Cape Town, nor its beauty.

The Cape Town bid for World Design Capital 2014 has the slogan “Live design, transform life”, and will benefit Capetonians if Cape Town wins, in attracting interest in and visitors to our beautiful city.

The World Design Capital project promotes the value of design in ‘managing and reshaping cities’. It is a project of the International Council for Societies of Industrial Design. It aims to show how design can tackle the problems of urbanisation in making ‘cities more attractive, more livable, and more efficient’. It encourages organised urbanisation through planning, design and management of cities.

A winning design city is selected every two years, and in that year the city commits to using design to address its urbanisation challenges, and showcases design achievements of that city through a program of design events and activities. Two cities are short-listed every two years, and have to expand on their design proposal, to be selected as a winner. The selection for 2014 takes place in two years’ time. Likely competitors for Cape Town include Bilbao and a number of Chinese cities.

The Cape Town World Design Capital bid focuses on the natural beauty of Cape Town, set between two World Heritage sites, being Table Mountain and Robben Island, its cultural diversity, cuisine, music, dance, unique language, and its urban design and designers. In the city centre there are more than 1000 creativity-related companies alone, including ad agencies, architecture and urban design practices, IT companies, and fashion and jewellery design companies.

The annual Design Indaba has already established Cape Town’s credentials as the leader in international design, attracting the world’s top designers as speakers as well as delegates (putting Martha Stewart on the programme earlier this year was the first Design Indaba flop). In addition, a number of Cape Town-based urban designers and architects have won international design awards.

The Green Goal programme, which was designed to offset the carbon footprint of the World Cup, forms part of the city’s bid, and has achieved international recognition. Over the past few years the city has attracted residents back to living in the city, in beautifully designed warehouses and lofts. Salt River and Woodstock have been regenerated, with furniture and lighting design companies opening there, as have art galleries, eateries and one of the city’s largest markets at the Old Biscuit Mill. The benefits of urban living in using the new modern and world-class Integrated Rapid Transport system to get around the city forms part of the bid. The film and television industry also forms part of the bid, having been an important means of attracting international productions to the Mother City in the past.

Cape Town’s bid for World Design Capital 2014 is being managed by the Cape Town Partnership’s Lorelle Bell, and she is requesting Capetonians to alert her to all the design-related assets of Cape Town, to be included in the Cape Town Bid Book. Contact her: lorelle@capetownpartnership.co.za and see more details about Cape Town’s bid for World Design Capital 2014 at www.capetown2014.co.za

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com