- Western Cape Transport MEC Daylin Mitchell took a tour around the Cape Town city centre on a bicycle this past Wednesday to promote the cycle-to-and-from-work initiative.
- Mitchell wants to get as many people as possible out of vehicles and onto bicycles to protect the environment.
“It has always been this government’s priority to get people out of motor vehicles and onto bicycles,” said the MEC. “We as government should look at how we design and plan our communities, to make bicycle lanes part of our planning to promote the use of non-motorised transport. Through the Provincial Sustainable Transport Programme (PSTP), the transport department is working with NGO Open Streets to increase public and non-motorised transport use,”added Mitchell
Western Cape Transport MEC Daylin Mitchell and his work colleagues cycling in the inner city. Image credit: Ricardo Meckenzie – Twitter
The transport department started distributing bicycles to the public in November 2020 in partnership with Qhubeka, the Pedal Power Association, and Ben Bikes. Up to 400 bicycles were handed over to various community-based organisations in the six Western Cape districts severely hit by Covid-19.
The department said bicycles reduced transport barriers faced by residents. It added it believed in communities where the majority of the population could barely afford to use taxis, bicycles were a more efficient way to deliver essential community services.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
