Brake lights stretch along Cape Town’s major routes during rush hour.
Image: Armand Hough/Independent Newspapers
The City says a congestion charge would not be considered or implemented, unless public transport is the most reliable and effective travel option.
That point has not yet been reached and remains a long-term goal, Mayco Member for Urban Mobility, Rob Quintas, said following reports that there could be a possible congestion tax for drivers entering busy areas.
Last week, Stellenbosch University logistics expert Stephan Krygsman, speaking at a recent Urban Mobility Strategic Dialogue hosted by the Cape Chamber, said the city is running out of viable options to fund and fix public transport.
“There is no other alternative to generate revenue for public transport other than implementing congestion taxes, development contributions and privatising elements of the system,” he said.
The City has previously put out the suggestion of a "traffic tax" in its Travel Demand Management (TDM) Strategy, which went out for public comment in November last year.
Quintas said that the misunderstanding seems to come from the TDM Strategy, which is a long-term, forward-looking policy framework.
“While the document references a wide range of theoretical measures based on international case studies, it clearly states that a congestion charge would not be considered, let alone implemented, unless public transport is the most reliable and effective travel option. That point has not yet been reached and remains a long-term goal.
“Furthermore, there is currently no provision in national legislation that would enable the City to implement a congestion charge,” Quintas said.
He added that on the TDM Strategy, the City is currently reviewing and incorporating feedback received from residents and stakeholders.
“Once this process is complete and the revised strategy is formally approved, the Urban Mobility Directorate will proceed with developing a detailed implementation plan. This will include clear timelines, phased interventions and resource allocation.
“In the interim, the City remains focused on practical, near-term measures to improve mobility for all residents. These include investing in more reliable and integrated public transport, expanding park-and-ride facilities, improving walking and cycling infrastructure, encouraging flexible and remote working arrangements and using parking management to support a shift away from private vehicle use,” Quintas said.
GOOD Party Councillor, Sandra Dickson, voiced her concern, saying that this policy direction should concern ratepayers.
“The City needs to be clear whether this is a serious proposal, what form it would take, and whether it is about managing congestion or simply creating another revenue stream,” she said.
She had also raised an issue with the City’s public participation process for the 2026/27 Draft Budget.
The City’s tabled budget for the period July 2026 – June 2027, which reflects key policy decisions and priorities, determines rates increases and indicates where it will spend money on programmes and services, is out for public comment from April 1 until April 30.
Dickson said that the current public participation process raises serious concerns about whether residents are being meaningfully informed or deliberately misled.
“What we are witnessing across subcouncil budget engagements is not genuine public participation. It is a carefully managed process where the Democratic Alliance government presents a simplified version of the budget, avoids meaningful financial scrutiny, and allows discussions to drift into everyday service delivery complaints. This is not by accident. It is by design.
“The Municipal Systems Act is clear: public participation must be meaningful, informed, and capable of influencing decisions. The Constitution further obliges municipalities to actively encourage community involvement in matters of governance. What is currently happening falls far short of that standard,” Dickson said.
Cape Times