A new shuttle business has launched in the Western Cape to provide both local and international tourists with affordable transportation to key tourist destinations.
Currently a single visitor to Cape Town cannot get to and from Cape Point or Franschhoek for under R550 and that requires joining a tour of up to 50 people. To get there visitors need to join a tour group, hire a car, take a hotel shuttle facility or taxi service such as Uber or private operators.
These are expensive options: Uber to Franschhoek is 600 rand one-way and a shuttle service from a hotel is typically 700 – 800 rand.
Cape Comoot will initially run from Greenmarket Square to Cape Point and Franschhoek and will cost only R99 for a one-way trip. The company has plans to expand to Stellenbosch and Hermanus in the near future.
Cape Comoot is the brainchild of Martin Bo Nielsen, the founder of Cape Town Free Walking Tours, which has over 60 000 guests yearly. With a history of launching disruptive businesses, Martin and his business partner Yolandie Le Grange have an eye for spotting gaps in the market and a passion for making a difference to communities around them.
“We have been asked how we can provide a shuttle service at R99 one way when the industry is currently charging 800 to 1500 rand easily per person,” says Cape Comoot co-owner Yolandie Le Grange.
“This is part of our bold business model and we know we may get some resistance from the industry. We are absolutely passionate about the fact that guests to the city should be able to take transport at a price closer to what they would get if they were to take public transport in any other global destination.”
Some people were not happy with the launch of Cape Town Free Walking Tours which operates using professional tour guides on a tip only basis. When it was launched four years ago, tour guide operators believed that the free walking tours would destroy their business, but this has not been the case.
“Cape Town has become a mainstream destination with tourists expecting the same service, facilities and convenience found at destinations such as London, Tokyo or Paris,” says Nielsen.
“Tourists come to South Africa and expect public transport to tourist sites outside of the city centres. The independent travelers also want to go straight to their destination, without the inconvenience of sitting through twenty stops along the way or taking a tour bus.”
“On the walking tours the guests ask us all the time if there are any simple public transport options to destinations outside Cape Town.”
The company hopes that the industry will see and acknowledge that they are trying to create an alternative to renting cars, and as Cape Town is growing into a global destination they think it is time for a service like this.
Cape Comoot’s shuttles might be the cheapest, but the company is certainly not skimping on quality.
Cape Comoot currently has a network of drivers with quality shuttles that have air conditioning, free Wifi, and mobile phone charging stations, redefining what cheap transport means.
- Cape Comoot opens for bookings from 4 May and will begin running from the 1st of June.
- Tickets can only be booked online at capecomoot.com
- As a start there will be 2 daily departure times to each destination which will increase soon
Definitely an amazing idea!
Please work on Germany’s tours
Regards
Lallie
Hi my comment meant Hermanus tours
Not sure how Germany creeped in the predictive text
Regards
Lallie
Ha ha. You could maybe go back and edit it. Germany has good public transport anyway.