With up to a third of trains cancelled and two-thirds running late‚ activists in Cape Town are throwing down the gauntlet to the commuter rail operator.

#UniteBehind plans a protest at Cape Town station on Thursday to launch its #DelayRepay campaign‚ allowing commuters free travel until Metrorail meets its own performance target.

“We are demanding that until the performance target of 79% -83% of trains running on time is met for three consecutive months‚ that monthly ticket holders will be entitled to use their ticket for the duration of the next consecutive month‚” said organiser Zukie Vuka.

“We demand that this starts immediately‚ with September monthly tickets extending into October.”

#UniteBehind has written to Passenger Rail Agency of SA chairperson Khanyesile Kweyama and transport minister Blade Nzimande about its campaign‚ calling on them to “restore value to commuters”.

The organisation’s eight-strong secretariat write: “In order to verify that our demands have been met‚ we ask that Prasa furnish the public with the relevant data‚ statistics and evidence relating to the performance of the commuter rail service and improved rolling-stock numbers in the Western Cape on a monthly basis.”

By agreeing to #DelayRepay‚ they say‚ Prasa will send a message to commuters that it cares and that their monthly ticket contains value.

Thursday’s two-hour demonstration is due to start at 3pm.