Clutching onto her valuables while holding on for dear life on an hour-long daily commute has become a distant memory for June Heyns.

The Tafelsig woman is one of almost 650 000 commuters who have in the last 11 months made use of the MyCiTi N2 Express Route, which was officially launched by Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille on Monday.

Heyns uses the bus daily to travel from Mitchells Plain to Gardens, where she works as a cleaner. Before using the bus service, Heyns had been robbed at knifepoint three times while waiting for the minibus to fill up.

“While it’s not as quick as the minibus, the MyCiTi bus is safer and more reliable than other [modes of] public transport,” Heyns said.

“I always thought those smart buses was for the fancy white people. It’s nice that it’s available for us on the Cape Flats, too.”

“It’s not safe to use a taxi. Some of the drivers and their assistants work with the skollies that rob the passengers. And that doesn’t include the pickpockets who steal your valuables while you clutch onto the seat in front of you in the speeding krokkies [unroadworthy vehicles] that are on the road.”

Capital investment of about R190m has been pumped into the MyCiTi N2 Express route, De Lille said at the opening of the bus service’s Mitchells Plain station on Monday.

‘The best thing to ever happen to Mitchells Plain’

Since the launch of the route in July last year, at least 644 000 commuters from Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha have travelled this route, she said.

“These numbers confirm the demand. The need for public transport services in the Metro South East is still under pressure.

“We have buses, taxis, trains as well the MyCiTi bus. But because this is the most populous area in the city, we still experience problems.”

Six buses currently operate during peak hours along the N2 Express route for Mitchells Plain and 10 buses on the Khayelitsha route.

Buses are added to the route when the demand arises, De Lille explained.

“When all buses for the N2 Express are operational, there will be a total of 40 buses allocated to the route.”

Rudolph Swartz became a MyCiTi commuter after he received a written warning for always arriving late at work.

“I travelled by train for years and was used to the frustration of sitting on the platform while that irritating voice tells you services have been delayed.

“This bus service is the best thing to ever happen to Mitchells Plain. Now we don’t have to be dependent on transport that shows disregard for their customers.”

Mayoral committee member for Transport for Cape Town Brett Herron said a further 30 stations were proposed between Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha.

The pilot station has four standard access gates and one universally accessible gate to cater for disabled passengers. News24