Budget constraints force ride service to limit eligibility

THE City of Cape Town said its Dial-a-Ride service is oversubscribed as they experience capacity challenges, with the R28.2 million annual budget being insufficient for the current R40m operating costs. This has been met with concern by users.

- GENEVIEVE SERRA

The City announced that effective September 8, the service will exclusively transport eligible wheelchair users and those with severe walking impairments, strictly between work and home.

"Over the past two decades, the service has expanded to include commuter trips to educational, medical, recreational facilities, shopping centres, and private home visits and the user base grew to include users with other special needs.

"Unfortunately, due to budget constraints, the DaR (Dial-a-Ride) service needs to be realigned with its core mandate: namely to transport eligible wheelchair users and those with severe walking impairments, and to limit these trips between the users' homes and places of work," the City said.