Metrorail poses threat to businesses and workers

Now in the next hour, we are going to be discussing something many of our listeners are familiar with…Metrorail or as some would say, Metrofail.
Metrorail has lost 101 carriages due to vandalism since October 2015 worth R312 million. Metrorail is also operating with 60% of its fleet with punctuality dropping by more than 20% and cancellations soaring. This is having a devastating effect on its ability to render a reliable commuter service.

Now according to a new survey conducted by the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Metrorail is at an all-time low in the opinion of local businesses, with many saying the poor rail service is a threat to their viability. Ninety-two percent of Cape Town businesses believe the Metrorail commuter service is worse today than it was a year ago.

For this segment of the show, we invited Metrorail to come on air and respond to the survey, however, they said they have not reviewed its findings just yet. We plan to get Metrorail’s Rianna Scott on air a little bit later to speak generally about the rail commuters challenges. But for now we have Janine Myburgh, the president of the Cape Chamber of Commerce online this evening…

Guest: Janine Myburgh
Position: Cape Chamber of Commerce president