The other day I used the MyCiti airport shuttle for the first time and I was so impressed, I felt I should share my experience with you. I purchased my ticket at the Civic Centre station and boarded the waiting bus. Within twenty minutes I was inside the airport terminal. I could not believe how quickly we arrived at the airport, but it was late morning so traffic was minimal. I assume if you use the service at peak times you will have to plan for a longer trip. Also, I happened to board the bus as it was about to leave, but if your timing is off you could wait up to twenty minutes before departing as the buses leave at twenty minute intervals.
On my return trip, I purchased a ticket at the airport station and waited about ten minutes for the bus to depart, arriving in town about twenty minutes later. The tickets are R50 one way and there are discounts for groups (R40 for 20 or more, valid for 3 months) or you can buy a ticket which allows unlimited trips for a month (R400). A taxi would cost about R200 from the Civic Centre to the airport (roughly 20 kms).
The buses themselves are brand new. They are comfortable and airconditioned (see photo below). The staff were friendly and helpful. Overall it was a professional and pleasant experience. It really matches (or even exceeds) similar services in other countries.
One of the problems with the service is that you have to get to the Civic Centre or from the Civic Centre to your destination which can be tricky and depending where you are going to / coming from, a little expensive.
The service is not being used much. There were five of us on the trip out to the airport and ten on the trip back into town, so it is being used but it should be much more popular. I think part of the problem is that many people still don’t know about it, so let’s hope they read this post! I often have friends ask me to take them to the airport and from now on, I’m going to just drop them at the Civic Centre and they can catch a bus to the airport. That saves me nearly a round trip of nearly an hour, not to mention the fuel cost.
The first buses depart from the Civic Centre at 4:20am and from the Airport at 5am. The last buses depart at 9pm from the Civic Centre and 10pm from the airport. There are departures every 20 minutes.
For more information, check out the Myciti website or call 0800 65 64 63.
Comments
6 responses to “MyCiti Airport Shuttle”
I bumbed my head on the low hanging TV’s and had to walk around for a week with a plaster on my forehead … not nice, but otherwise an easy ride. They weren’t on time as advertised when we left or when we got back … “but then again, this isn’t Europe” one of my friends mentioned – very sad that we have this attitude!
You must be tall, Martin, I didn’t even notice the TVs. Not operating according to the timetable will be a major problem because it means you can’t plan around it and that has been one of the biggest problems with out bus service. The bus stops in Seapoint don’t even have timetables up, they just say there is a bus every x minutes. And that’s not even accurate. But it means I have to allow for x minutes everytime I want to catch the bus because I don’t know when it will arrive or if I’ve just missed one or not.
This is a problem which really needs to be addressed. Thanks for pointing it out.
I’ve been thinking of this service but wonder where I’ll park my car. Any thoughts about nearby secure but affordible parking?
It’s a good question, Brian, and I don’t have a good answer. Depending on where you live it’s probably better to catch a bus, train or taxi. I’m in Seapoint so I can catch a bus easily. Southern Suburbs peeps can catch a train and people out Milnerton way can catch the new IRT bus soon.
I don’t think there is cheap parking in town. I always weigh up how much airport parking costs vs the shuttle and bus. If I’m going for more than 2 days then I take the shuttle otherwise I park at the airport. Unless it’s easy to get a lift to the shuttle.
I’ve caught it a few times and would definitely recommend it. The only problem I’ve ever experienced is getting back to the civic centre on a Sunday around midday to find the Station was like a ghost town. I stressed for about 20 mins until I found a lone taxi driver snoozing behind the wheel of his Mazda Sting half a block away. I’ve also caught it before and had the entire bus to myself, not a problem for me, but I wonder how long they could afford to run it like that, and it does kind of negate the Eco benefits of public transport when they run a massive diesel bus for 5 people or less.
I seriously don’t see the point in using the Airport shuttle if you own a car. Unless you are going away for more than 2 days, parking is cheaper and using your own vehicle is a lot more convenient than multiple stops, finding city parking etc.
If there is more than 1 person travelling, the shuttle is way more expensive.
I’m not sure how this is supposed to work?