Activist organisation #UniteBehind wants the Cape High Court for an order compelling the transport minister and PRASA to develop a service level plan with the City of Cape Town.
The plan, according to the organisation, must describe how the City, with help from transport minister Sindiswe Chikunga,"will progressively achieve a safe, reliable, affordable, efficient and quality municipal public transport system with the use of railway". Achmat states that in the Western Cape the number of train passenger trips dropped by 84% between 2013 and 2020, while taxi passenger trips increased by 29% over the same period. Meanwhile the cost of travelling by train is about a third of the average cost of travelling by taxi.
The Corporate Plan states delays and trip cancellations caused by theft and vandalism of PRASA infrastructure and equipment affected tens of millions of passenger trips per year. Achmat states the City has agreed to produce a service level plan in consultation with PRASA, but the transport minister and PRASA"have not come to the proverbial table", which is why #UniteBehind approached the court.#UniteBehind wants the High Court to direct the transport minister and PRASA to conclude a service level plan with the City within 90 days of a court order.