Improving Commuter Productivity in the Cape

Traffic congestion in Cape Town is the highest in South Africa according to TomTom, and with Metrorail’s challenges from cable theft and vandalism, commuters can spend almost double their travel time during peak hours. Adding to this is the complexity that Cape Town’s population is growing at 2 – 3% every year, and public transport is managed by multiple stakeholders. So what is being done to address congestion and delays?

For road users, the City of Cape Town recently committed R750 million to upgrade road infrastructure projects over the next five years. The N1 and N2 have become heavily congested, where travel is on average twice as long during the peak period compared with off-peak and this is impacting on business productivity. With the continued development of the V&A Waterfront precinct and the limited access thereof, congestion has also become a major problem as commuters come into and exit the CBD.

Access to good quality public transport systems is a core component of any prosperous, equitable and sustainable society and is imperative in solving the above issues. Improved public and non-motorised transport is critical for providing access to opportunities, as well as supporting economic growth and attracting investment in the Cape region.

Wesgro, together with Accelerate Cape Town, MEC Donald Grant, MEC Alan Winde and Cllr Brett Herron from the City of Cape Town, will be hosting a business breakfast specifically focused on Improving Commuter Productivity in the Cape and how to address these challenges.

Accelerate Cape Town will be hosting a follow-up from this session where the private sector will be able to debate these strategies, present additional solutions and, in turn, respond to government.

Speakers

MEC Donald Grant

Minister Grant entered politics in June 2005, initially as a councillor in the Bitou Municipality. He was elected to the Western Cape Provincial Legislature in April 2009. He has worked closely with the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in Marine and Coastal Management and chaired the West Coast Rock Lobster Industry Association for seven years until his appointment as Minister of Education in 2009, and then as Minister of Transport and Public Works in 2014.

Cllr Brett Herron

Cllr Brett Herron is currently a member of the Mayoral Committee: Transport for Cape Town, Chairperson of the Naming Committee, member of the Planning and General Appeals Committee and a director of the South African Law School. He entered politics in 2009 as the Chairperson of the Social Development Portfolio Committee and went on to become a member of the Mayoral Committee: Community Services until his current appointment in 2011. Before pursuing politics, Brett worked as an attorney at various firms in South Africa, as well as in New York.

MEC Alan Winde

Alan Winde became Minister of Economic Opportunities in 2014 after having served as the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism for five years. During his first term in office, Minister Winde has initiated exciting new projects to increase the attractiveness of the Western Cape as an investment destination, and stimulate job-creating growth. In the coming years, the Minister would like to see the Western Cape become a centre of business excellence, where an efficient and corruption free administration works together with an educated, healthy and opportunity-driven civil society.