New BRT good for property
Cape Town’s Integrated Rapid Transit (IRT) system that coordinates the city’s extensive network of trains, buses, minibus taxis and park-and-ride facilities, bodes well for the city’s long-term development. The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system has already gone a long way to address the congestion experienced along the city’s west coast.
IRT network was launched in 2011, and the first phase of the rollout was in the Table View area. Last year routes between the CBD and Salt River railway station, City Bowl, Atlantic Seaboard and Hout Bay were also added. This year the BRT system will include Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plein on the Cape Flats.
From a commercial and industrial property perspective, the new BRT system should have a direct impact on property prices by stimulating the development of new industrial sites, and making the refurbishment of older sites closer to the city more viable. Other advantages include:
- Less traffic congestion means creating a faster and more efficient distribution system within the manufacturing and warehousing system
- A more mobile work force is more productive
- Businesses can access a larger pool of labour because of the reduction in commuting time
- New industrial areas further from the CBD become more attractive and in turn stimulates development
Cape Town’s public transport system was due for an upgrade, and has already helped to reduce travel time for commuters living in the Table View/Blaauwberg areas, and also provides low-income earners with relatively cheap access to jobs in the city centre.
To encourage the use of the system the city has gone a long way to increase safety through the appointment of security personnel and the installation of CCTV. From an environmental point of view there are also obvious advantages: less air pollution, less carbon emissions and the reduction in the use of fossil fuel.
