Our governments are doing everything possible, outside the scope of our mandate, to help Metrorail

Despite not having operational control over rail, which is a national government competency, the DA governments of the Western Cape and City of Cape Town have done the following:

Contributed R4 million for 25 scrambler bikes to patrol stations in Area Central, and 12 high mast lights at to improve safety;

The Western Cape Government is offering R100 000 to anyone who can provide information that leads to the arrest and conviction of people linked to train arson;

In a joint initiative with PRASA, providing 100 Rail Enforcement Officers at a projected cost of R48 million per year to make trains safer – 70% of the budget coming from our governments; and

Established a Rail Management Task Team.

We will continue to make progress by:

Fighting to take over the management of the rail system in the province from national government so that the trains work and run on time; and

Introducing competition by licensing private sector operators to take over the operation of the railways system on qualifying routes in the Western Cape.

We will also:

Introduce a combined ticketing system to be used on all modes of public transport; and

Invest in new infrastructure and allocate more funding to ease congestion in the most economically active areas in the Western Cape.

We understand that rail is essential to safe and reliable public transport and essential to the running of the economy.

If Metrorail is given to the DA Provincial Government to run, we will make sure that the people of Cape Town have reliable trains that are on time, clean and safe.

More people need to commute to work or school by using overcrowded taxis which are unsafe and unreliable in terms of being on time. This is a result of the poor management of our trains in Cape Town, which is frustrating commuters who relied on transportation via trains. Only the DA has a plan to fix the rail system, and we cannot afford to allow our train system collapse.
Over 75% of trains in Cape Town are late. This means that over 250 000 people have stopped using the trains, and instead are making use of busses to commute to work. This results in overcrowded buses, heavily congested traffic, and more people arriving late for work – or being unable to get to work because of busses that are full. Only the DA has a plan to fix the rail system, and we cannot afford to allow our train system collapse.
More than 250 000 have stopped using the trains in Cape Town because the ANC is failing at rail. As a result of more people using the roads to commute to work, traffic has escalated and road safety is jeopardized. More people are arriving late to work, and children are late for school. The failure of the train system has resulted in job losses and has affected education. Only the DA has a plan to fix the rail system, and we cannot afford to allow our train system collapse.