Khayelitsha MyCiTi users left powerless

THE MyCiTi bus terminus in Kuyasa in Khayelitsha, which has been without electricity for more than a month, has left commuters fuming.

The City of Cape Town says restoring the power at the kiosk “is not a simple matter as we are relying on Eskom for replacing a stolen cable”.

Mayoral committee member for transport and urban development Brett Herron said cable theft and attacks on the MyCiTi assets, “be it buses or stations”, were beyond the City’s control.

“These crimes have the worst effect on those most in need of public transport services,” said Herron.

He said the power outage at the MyCiTi Kuyasa kiosk was as a result of an accident that damaged an Eskom electrical kiosk. After replacement of the kiosk, it was discovered that the cable to the MyCiTi kiosk was also stolen, and “therefore the power has not been restored at the kiosk yet”.

He said the City was in negotiations with Eskom to have the cable replaced.

“It is therefore not possible to say when the power at the Kuyasa kiosk will be restored as we rely on Eskom to resolve the matter,” Herron said.

Commuter Veliswa Mazeka said she had not been able to buy MyCiTi points at the office in Kuyasa and when she finally buys points elsewhere she is penalised R22.

“It’s disappointing – it’s almost two months since the cables were stolen but nothing has been to fix it. How long are they waiting?” asked Mazeka.

Social Justice Coalition secretary Axolile Notywala said: “The community should not suffer because of what criminals did to the station.

“It is unacceptable that this has taken this long to look at and we believe if this was happening in influential areas it would have long been fixed.”

Eskom had not replied to questions by the time of publication.