All land-based modes of transport in the City of Cape Town, including taxis and Metrorail, are to be managed by the City, it was announced today.

Mayco Member for Transport, Roads and Stormwater, Brett Herron, said the City intends to launch its own Transport Authority (TA) in October this year.

The TA would be fashioned along the lines of those operating in international cities such as London and Hong Kong in order to integrate the currently fragmented road and rail transport networks in order to better serve the needs of commuters.

The TA would also seek to control the management of subsidized bus contracts such as those existing for companies such as Golden Arrow and Sibanye, and would be fully functional by July next year.

Among the initiatives the TA would introduce would be a one-ticket system, a unifed unified standard for infrastructure and operations across the city, and a single timetable for all modes of transport.

According to the city the idea is to introduce a system that is commuter-focused, cost effective and convenient.

Herron emphasized that the TA would not be operating the transport industry but would set the necessary standards and controls.

The national and provincial governments approved of the idea and negotiations were underway with stakeholders such as the taxi industry.

He said a series of public meetings will be held across the city for the public and transport stakeholders to provide input and receive information on the process.