Cape Town’s Dial-a-Ride service helps people with severe disabilities get around in special vehicles with trained drivers. It started as a temporary fix but became a vital lifeline for many, especially for daily trips and work. The city now faces big money challenges and plans to focus the service mainly on work trips from 2025. Meanwhile, Cape Town is working hard to make all public transport easier for everyone to use, aiming for a future where no one is left behind. This journey shows how important it is to balance care, costs, and true inclusion in city travel.
What is Cape Town’s Dial-a-Ride service and how does it work?
Cape Town’s Dial-a-Ride (DaR) is a specialized transport service for people with severe physical disabilities. It offers accessible vehicles and trained drivers, primarily focusing on work-related trips from 2025. The city aims to balance demand, costs, and inclusive mobility through this service.
Cape Town’s Dial-a-Ride: The Evolution of Accessible Transport
The Birth and Purpose of Dial-a-Ride
For many residents of Cape Town, mobility means more than just getting from one place to another – it represents freedom, connection, and opportunity. In 2002, the city launched Dial-a-Ride (DaR) as a temporary measure, aiming to fill the gap for people with severe physical disabilities until mainstream public transportation became truly accessible. This service provided specialized vehicles and trained drivers to ensure that those who relied on wheelchairs or had profound mobility challenges could experience the city alongside everyone else.
Initially, DaR operated as a supplementary program, never intended to become the sole solution for accessible transport. City leaders viewed it as a bridge toward a future where all buses, trains, and taxis would provide barrier-free travel. In this way, Cape Town followed the pattern of other major cities that introduced similar services as stopgaps, only to find that demand quickly grew and expectations shifted.
Over time, more residents came to depend on DaR – not just for essential commutes, but for daily errands, attending social gatherings, and accessing healthcare. The service evolved in response to this need, becoming an essential part of life for many users. As DaR became woven into the social fabric, it highlighted both the successes and shortcomings of Cape Town’s broader approach to accessible mobility.
The Financial Strain and the Reality of Demand
As DaR expanded its reach, city officials began to grapple with the escalating costs of keeping the program afloat. Transporting a single DaR user now costs the city more than R31,000 each month – sufficient to fund several full-time municipal jobs over the course of a year. On average, each individual trip sets the city and province back nearly R737, while passengers contribute a nominal fee of R22. Most of these expenses, specifically R515 per trip, come directly from the city’s own budget, with the province adding another R200 to help close the gap.
These figures reveal a system under immense financial pressure. With only about 3% of costs recovered from users, the city finds itself shouldering an increasingly unsustainable subsidy. Officials report a monthly deficit of close to R1 million, raising serious questions about how much longer the current model can last. The experience mirrors that of cities worldwide, where well-intentioned but underfunded paratransit systems eventually reach a breaking point.
Despite these investments, DaR serves just a fraction of Cape Town’s disabled population. Many eligible residents, particularly those in marginalized neighborhoods, have never accessed the service at all. As demand keeps growing and resources remain limited, the city faces a dilemma: how to balance the needs of current users with the imperative to create a more inclusive system for everyone.
Shifting Priorities: Refocusing on the Core Mission
Recognizing the unsustainable trajectory, Cape Town officials have decided to realign the DaR program with its original mission. Starting in September 2025, DaR will prioritize transporting eligible users to their workplaces. While this shift may disappoint some, the city believes it is necessary to protect access to employment – the foundation for independence and dignity – under mounting budget constraints.
This decision does not mean the city will ignore trips related to education, healthcare, or social participation. Rather, it reflects the need to make difficult choices within existing financial limits. By focusing on work-related journeys, Cape Town hopes to maximize the impact of DaR for those who rely on it most, while encouraging broader investments in accessible mainstream transport.
This pivot echoes a challenge seen in cities from Amsterdam to New York: how to reconcile targeted support for people with disabilities with the broader goal of universal access. Ultimately, a specialized service like DaR can only be part of the solution. Long-term progress depends on integrating accessibility into the very fabric of public transport – a goal that requires visionary policy, persistent advocacy, and sustained funding.
The Path Forward: Building an Inclusive Mobility System
Cape Town has signaled its commitment to this broader vision through the adoption of a Universal Access Policy for Accessible Transport in May 2025. This new policy sets out a clear, ambitious goal: to ensure that every resident, regardless of ability, can travel independently and safely throughout the city. The emphasis shifts from segregated services to a universally accessible system, where everyone benefits from thoughtful design and inclusive planning.
Concrete progress is already visible. The MyCiTi bus network now features low-floor vehicles and accessible boarding platforms, making it easier for people with mobility impairments to travel alongside their peers. Plans are underway to expand this network into areas like Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain, connecting more neighborhoods to major economic centers such as Claremont and Wynberg. These efforts reflect an understanding that access to transport underpins economic opportunity and social participation.
The city is also upgrading pedestrian infrastructure, adding new sidewalks, tactile paving for the visually impaired, and safe crossings for everyone. These improvements serve not only wheelchair users, but also families with strollers, older adults, and cyclists. By prioritizing accessibility, Cape Town follows the principles of Universal Design, creating public spaces that enhance quality of life for everyone.
Collaboration and the Future of Inclusive Transport
Realizing the promise of universal access requires more than just municipal leadership. Cape Town’s officials acknowledge that meaningful progress depends on partnerships with provincial and national governments, employers, and advocacy groups. No single entity can bear the responsibility alone. The city’s experience underscores the importance of breaking down physical, social, and economic barriers that prevent people with disabilities from full participation in urban life.
This approach reflects a global movement toward disability rights. South Africa’s own policy framework, inspired by the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, emphasizes both targeted supports and the need for mainstream inclusion. Only by integrating these two approaches can cities like Cape Town hope to build truly inclusive communities.
For many DaR users, the upcoming changes evoke anxiety about losing crucial support. At the same time, they represent an opportunity: the chance to build a city where accessible transport is not a privilege for a few, but a right for all. The transition will not be easy, and setbacks are likely. Yet every step forward – whether a newly accessible bus route or a safer city sidewalk – brings the promise of greater independence and dignity for everyone.
Cape Town’s journey with Dial-a-Ride offers lessons for cities everywhere. Temporary solutions, once established, often become essential lifelines for those they serve. Adjusting these programs to reflect changing realities requires courage, compassion, and a willingness to look beyond short-term fixes.
By refocusing DaR and investing in universal access, Cape Town is choosing to build a transport system that works better for everyone. The road ahead will demand flexibility, creativity, and sustained commitment. Yet the ultimate goal – a city where every resident can move freely and independently – remains within reach, promising a future where mobility equals opportunity.
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FAQ: Cape Town’s Dial-a-Ride Service and Accessible Transport
What is Cape Town’s Dial-a-Ride (DaR) service?
Cape Town’s Dial-a-Ride is a specialized transport service designed for people with severe physical disabilities. It provides accessible vehicles and drivers trained to assist users with mobility challenges. Initially created as a temporary solution, DaR has grown into a vital service for daily travel needs, especially work-related trips. Starting in September 2025, the service will primarily focus on transporting eligible users to and from their workplaces to ensure sustainable access to employment.
Who qualifies to use the Dial-a-Ride service?
The service is intended for residents of Cape Town who have severe physical disabilities that prevent them from using mainstream public transport comfortably or safely. This includes individuals who rely on wheelchairs or have profound mobility impairments. Eligibility assessments ensure that the service targets those who need it most, prioritizing users whose disabilities create significant barriers in accessing regular buses, trains, or taxis.
Why is Cape Town refocusing Dial-a-Ride mainly on work trips starting in 2025?
The city faces significant financial pressures sustaining the DaR service. Transporting each user costs the city tens of thousands of Rands monthly, with only a small fraction recovered through user fees. To manage a monthly deficit nearing R1 million and to preserve essential support, officials decided to prioritize work-related trips. Employment access fosters independence and dignity, making it a core mission under tight budget constraints. This realignment also encourages broader investment in making mainstream public transport universally accessible.
How is Cape Town improving accessibility beyond Dial-a-Ride?
Cape Town is pursuing a Universal Access Policy for Accessible Transport, aiming for a future where all public transport is barrier-free. The MyCiTi bus system now features low-floor buses and accessible platforms. Expansion plans include connecting underserved areas like Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain to economic hubs. The city is also enhancing pedestrian infrastructure, adding tactile paving, safer crossings, and sidewalks that benefit not only people with disabilities but also older adults, families, and cyclists. These steps reflect a commitment to Universal Design principles for inclusive urban spaces.
What challenges does Cape Town face in providing accessible transport?
Financial sustainability remains a major challenge due to the high costs of specialized services like Dial-a-Ride. Additionally, many eligible residents – especially in marginalized neighborhoods – have limited or no access to DaR. Balancing targeted support with the goal of universal accessibility requires collaboration among municipal, provincial, and national governments, as well as employers and advocacy groups. Moreover, integrating accessibility into mainstream transport infrastructure involves long-term planning, funding, and policy reforms.
How does Cape Town’s approach to accessible transport reflect broader disability rights goals?
Cape Town’s strategy aligns with South Africa’s national policies, including the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which advocates for both targeted support services and mainstream inclusion. The city recognizes that specialized services alone cannot meet all needs; inclusive transport systems benefit the entire community. By focusing on universal access and working with multiple stakeholders, Cape Town aims to break down physical, social, and economic barriers, fostering a city where independent mobility is a right, not a privilege.
