GOOD Statement by Siyabulela Mamkeli, GOOD City of Cape Town Councillor:
We strongly oppose the City’s proposed public transport fare increases, particularly at a time when fuel prices in South Africa are declining, and cost pressures on operators are easing.
Despite this relief at the pumps, commuters are being told to accept higher MyCiTi and Dial-a-Ride fares through an automated “fuel-linked” system that allows repeated increases, even mid-year, without proper political oversight. This shifts fuel price risk directly onto passengers, many of whom already spend a disproportionate share of their income on transport.
Low-income workers pay the highest price.
Thousands of working-class residents travel more than 47 kilometres every day to reach their workplaces- not by choice, but because apartheid spatial planning deliberately separated Black and Coloured communities from economic centres.
These residents live far from jobs, schools, and services, and now face higher peak fares and a permanent penalty of nearly 20% for commuters who cannot afford to pre-load Saver products, and the threat of further increases whenever fuel prices fluctuate.
This is not a transport policy; it is a poverty tax.
Instead of undoing apartheid geography through affordable, accessible transport, the City is entrenching it by making long-distance commuting even more expensive.
Dial-a-Ride: Disability cannot be treated as a revenue stream.
We are deeply concerned about the proposed Dial-a-Ride fare increases affecting persons with disabilities.
Dial-a-Ride is not a luxury service. It serves as a lifeline for residents who cannot use conventional public transportation. Increasing fares for this sector, especially by aligning them with general mover tariffs, places an unfair burden on people who already face higher living costs and limited mobility options.
Disability should never be balanced against budget spreadsheets.
Any increase to Dial-a-Ride fares must be halted until a proper affordability and accessibility impact assessment is completed, in consultation with disability organisations.
The City’s own figures show that fare and parking revenues are already increasing year on year. Yet instead of reconsidering its subsidy model or protecting vulnerable commuters, the City is introducing mechanisms that allow automatic fare hikes of up to double digits if fuel prices rise again.
At the same time, those who can least afford it, casual workers, domestic workers, cleaners, security guards, and factory workers, are forced to pay the highest fares simply because they cannot afford to preload travel cards.
This is fundamentally unjust.
We call on the City to:
- Suspend fare increases while fuel prices are decreasing.
- Remove the permanent Spender penalty that targets low-income commuters.
- Freeze Dial-a-Ride fare increases and engage directly with the disability sector.
- Acknowledge apartheid spatial realities by introducing targeted relief for long-distance commuters.
- Reopen the debate on public transport funding so that affordability, not automation, guides policy.
Public transport must be a tool for social justice and economic inclusion, not another barrier faced by the poor.
GOOD Manifesto on Vision for the Future: Envisioning a South Africa where all citizens can thrive.
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Hendrik.