Faulty train mars Car Free Day
20/10/2005 13:12
Cape Town - In Cape Town, the call to use public transport on national Car Free Day got off to a rocky start when a technical fault disabled the busy Khayelitsha rail line in the early hours of Thursday morning.
And the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) in the province accused the government of "reckless endangerment" in urging more people to use what it said was the already overcrowded public transport system.
"As Cosatu we support greater use of public transport but [this] must be pursued in a safe and considered way," said Cosatu's provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich.
Metrorail said a "contact wire" snapped near Khayelitsha station at 04:30 causing two trains to be cancelled and others to be late.
Buses assisted customers and by 06:10 a partial rail service had been restored.
Many motorists ignore Car Free Day
The national government's call to use public transport appeared to have had little effect on motorists in the city, and rush hour commuters on the notoriously congested routes into the city centre from the northern suburbs said there was no difference in traffic volume.
Frank van der Velde, spokesperson for the city council's transport portfolio, said the city had not actively promoted the no-car day partly because of the short notice it was given, and partly because it had its own car free day last month.
However he said a group of about 30 officials, including city and provincial traffic planners and deputy director general of the national transport department Lucky Montana had rendezvoused at the Mitchell's Plain transport interchange at 05:30 to make their way into town by bus and taxi.
Van der Velde said he had made the trip into town in a taxi, jammed in with 15 other people.
"The taxi driver was aware that he had officials on board, so he didn't weave as much as one observes them do," he said. 
Trains too crowded
City centre street sweeper Royal Nyoka said she usually came to work from Khayelitsha by train.
"It's too crowded but financially it's good for me," she said.
Asked if she would like to see the train service improved, she said: "Yes, like today we are very late because the train was stuck in Khayelitsha."
She said the first train of the day was supposed to leave the station for Cape Town at 04:30, but had left only at 07:20.
Nigel Engelbrecht, a parking marshal who work in Cape Town said: "The government should do something, the minister of transport should make another track on the 9-4 [the line from Khayelitsha to the city centre] because people are hanging outside the carriages already."
Elsewhere in the province, Western Cape transport MEC Marius Fransman visited Oudtshoorn to distribute 100 new bicycles to learners who had long distances to walk to school.
More bicycles will be distributed to other needy commuters in coming months.
News24/SAPA
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