MYCiTi - Cape Town transport gets a new name and look

CITY OF CAPE TOWN - MEDIA RELEASE - 06 MAY 2010

Cape Town transport gets a new name and look – MYCiTi

The City of Cape Town today introduced its first branded Integrated Rapid Transit(IRT) buses and unveiled the name, colours and design. The new public transport system will be known as MYCiTi.

At the launch today, at the Granger Bay Bus Station near the new Cape Town Stadium, Councillor Elizabeth Thompson, Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Roads and Major Projects, said: "We hope users of MYCiTi will feel a sense of belonging and ownership when they are passengers or refer to the service. This name identifies a user-friendly service which transports people safely, conveniently, reliably and helps them avoid being stuck in traffic. We want them to feel proud to live in a world-class city with modern facilities. MYCiTi will offer people greater choice and quality in their own public transport system."

"As the IRT rolls out across Cape Town in the coming years, it aims to be much more than a transport system, it must give citizens a sense of control, ownership, greater choice, mobility and access to opportunities, " Cllr Thompson said.

Alderman Ian Neilson, Executive Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Finance, said that although the primary benefit of the IRT service was for passengers, the wider benefit would extend to all residents and visitors as the service will unlock economic opportunities. It will make the city more accessible.

"The IRT will add value to Cape Town by making it a better place to live and work in. It makes Cape Town a better place in which to invest resources, both human and financial", Neilson said.

The name MYCiTi is multilingual, easy to use for Capetonians and visitors alike, and unique to Cape Town with its play on the city’s name. It extends to the creation of a ribbon element that is a central theme in the design and represents how the service threads through the city, linking places and people to each other and to opportunity.

The logo shape is aligned to the City's corporate identity. The red ribbon in the logo is an abstract interpretation of Devil's Peak, Table Mountain and Lion's Head and also resembles the red roads that MyCiTi buses will use as they weave through Cape Town.

The font or letter type is bold to easily identify the system while the colour palette is warm and approachable. The inspiration is drawn from the many colours of the deep blue ocean that surrounds the Cape Peninsula. The accent colour red represents red IRT roads, but is also symbolic of the connections that the system will offer to all its passengers across the city.

"We believe the exhilaration of this new brand design matches that of the Cape Town experience", said Cllr Thompson.

"The slogan, ‘siyajikeleza, laat wiel, going places’ is obviously related to transport, but it also represents other themes central to the IRT service including a sense of achievement and of going places in one's life. The underlying promise of the slogan is that the IRT will expand as the city grows. It also extends to Cape Town itself, as a city that is ready to go and compete on the international stage” she added.

The City has ordered 43 IRT buses, eight 18m long articulated buses and thirty five 12m long buses. The buses will first be used during the 2010 FIFA World Cup to ferry visitors from the airport to and around the central city. They will also provide a free shuttle service on match days from the Hertzog Boulevard Bus Station to Cape Town Stadium for people who hold tickets for the match.

After the World Cup the buses will also be used in the roll-out of Phase 1a of Cape Town’s IRT system.

The airport shuttle service will launch on Saturday 29 May 2010.


End

Issued by: City of Cape Town, Communication Department

Media enquiries: Kylie Hatton, Media Manager, Cell: 082 874 4605