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Cape Town - Legal action will be taken against the City of Cape Town for the "substandard" roll-out of the MyCiTi bus service in Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain, Cosatu said on Monday.
Congress of SA Trade Unions' provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich said he was planning to file an application at the Equality Court in Cape Town on Tuesday.
He had taken issue with the incomplete construction of several bus stops and an alleged shortage of buses, ahead of the first phase of the N2 Express rollout on Saturday.
"In all aspects of the service introduction, the Cape Flats are getting a substandard service and the service is introduced there years after service is operational in Milnerton," Ehrenreich said.
"The Equality Court application will detail the areas where the city administrators undermine equality in the roll-out of the service."
In response, the city's transport mayoral committee member Brett Herron said Cosatu's claims were ignorant and informed by a political narrative.
He said Cosatu was desperate to undermine and scuttle the project, despite it being welcomed by residents, the taxi industry, Golden Arrow bus services, the Khayelitsha Development Forum and the Khayelitsha Business Forum.
The service was to be rolled out in two phases, the first on Saturday and the second around five months later.
The buses would transport people from the two areas to the city centre on the N2.
"It has never been the intention to complete the construction of the infrastructure before the N2 Express service is rolled out," Herron said.
"In fact, the MyCiTi bus station in Mitchells Plain has always been due for completion by the end of 2014."
The new service would run while construction took place.
Herron said some of the bus stops in Khayelitsha were temporary, because it would allow the location to be tested and changed if necessary for the second phase.
This had been agreed to by the community and the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations.
"It is important to note from the outset that the N2 Express service is a top-up service, implemented to add capacity to the current public transport services available to the residents in these areas."
Regarding the supply of buses, Herron said Volvo and its local partner Busmark had experienced delivery delays.
However, they would lease additional buses to ensure the service ran on time.
"Thus the service which originally was scheduled to run with 20 12-metre low-floor buses, will now commence with 14 12-metre low-floor buses and a further 10 nine-metre low-floor buses," Herron said.
The fleet of 20 18-metre low-floor buses would be delivered on schedule for the second phase.
