Cape Town creates hubs for delivery riders
In Cape Town, South Africa, local organizations, together with delivery platforms and city authorities, are implementing and piloting hubs for couriers using two-wheeled transport. Such sites can provide parking and rest areas, access to toilets, shade, device charging and internet access, Daily Maverick reports.
The column's authors note that the city's streets and commercial areas were designed before motorcycle deliveries spread rapidly. Due to a lack of designated areas, couriers stop on sidewalks, making it harder for pedestrians, parents with strollers and people using wheelchairs to move around. Couriers may be fined 500 rand for illegal parking, and vehicles are sometimes towed away.
Parking spaces for couriers
The Safe Mobility Hub programme, coordinated by Young Urbanists NPC in partnership with Takealot, Mr D, Woolworths, the City of Cape Town and other participants, repurposes on-street car parking spaces for couriers' motorcycles. These areas are protected by bollards and curbside separators. Depending on the format, they may include modular seating, shade, Wi-Fi and toilets.
On Bree Street, where one of three such hubs in central Cape Town operates, 14 spaces for couriers and a rest area have been set up. According to the authors' estimate, if an operator with 100 motorcycles avoids ten towing incidents per year thanks to a hub, it can save nearly 30,000 rand. The costs associated with one towing incident, including towing, administration and the initial storage fee, amount to 2,814.10 rand.
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Modular structures and pilot projects
The CitiPods organization offers modular structures with sheltered seating, toilets, charging points and internet access. The first CitiPod, supported by Uber Eats, opened at Constantia Village on August 14, and another is planned for installation at the V&A Waterfront.
The Micro-Mobility Hub project, implemented by Local South together with Langa Bicycle Hub, the University of Cape Town's Centre for Transport Studies and other partners, was piloted in Rondebosch, Observatory and the city centre. These sites offered different combinations of parking spaces, seating, shade, water, toilets, Wi-Fi and charging. At the same time, local authorities later returned one of the locations near McDonald's on Long Street to car parking.
The authors of the article propose that applications for land use by restaurants and shops working with delivery services should in future provide dedicated space for couriers. In their view, the city should also allocate more roadside space for two-wheeled vehicle parking, public seating and toilets.
