Cape Town -
Taxi commuters were left angry and confused on Friday afternoon at the news that the Station Deck rank had been moved to the Grand Parade.
Despite temporary destination boards at the new venue, commuters were milling around unsure of where to go Many were desperately asking questions of one another.
Commuters complained that they had only just learnt of the changes, and had to queue in the heat.
Earlier this week the city announced that as of Friday, the Station Deck rank would be closed for six days to allow for urgent maintenance and repairs.
Buyiswa Mgxotwa, from Gugulethu, sat under a temporary sign in a desperate search for shade.
She said she had taken a taxi to work on Friday morning, but the driver said nothing about the switch.
“I didn’t know that the rank was going to be moved. After work I went to the deck as usual, only to be told to come here.
“As you can see I’m trying to hide from the sun, its hot,” she said.
An agitated Fatimah Rodrigues, of Heideveld, kept trying to shield her face from the sun as she declared that the change was “madness”.
“This is stupid because up there there’s cover which provides shade, but here it’s like hell. We are burning, and it doesn’t help that we only found out about it today,” she said.
A Manenberg line regulator who did not wish to be named said the space at the Parade was insufficient for the number of taxis. He said the sun was too hot for old people and children to be queuing in.
Law enforcement officers walked around the Parade stopping some taxis and asking for driver’s licences and permits.
Plans for the Station Deck upgrade include the painting of buildings and road markings.
Maintenance teams will also repair the lighting, potholes and cracks in the road surface and sidewalks, and install new destination boards to help commuters find the correct departure lanes for their destinations. As part of the maintenance and repair work, new lanes will be allocated to the various destinations.
Saturday Argus