Metrorail: We need better transport
Cape Town's commuter train service is abysmal. Our trains are late, dangerous and uncomfortable.
Hundreds of thousands of people in the city rely on Metrorail to get them to and from work safely and on time. But as our articles published today and last week show, the trains are frequently cancelled, extremely late or so overcrowded that people are pushed out of carriages or hang onto the outside of carriages. Today, nearly all GroundUp's journalists arrived late to work because of trains delays. At one station, it took over 30 minutes without trains arriving before an incomprehensible announcement was made, which apparently admitted that the trains were delayed, as if the dozens of commuters standing on the platform had not worked this out already.
Sometimes commuters copy us on their letters of complaint to Metrorail. Here is an extract from one we received this morning:
My train was delayed this morning and I request a refund on my ticket.
Unfortunately I was unable to request this refund from the ticket office that I had purchased the ticket from within 30 minutes of purchase (as noted on your website) as the train was further delayed on route to my destination.