Cape Town - Inclement weather has delayed the work to prepare the Foreshore alternative remote holding area for minibus taxis displaced from the station deck facility.
Transport mayco member Felicity Purchase said the contractor had been working 24/7 over the past few days in an effort to limit the delays. Purchase said, unfortunately, and due to more rain expected in the coming days, “we have postponed the relocation of the minibus-taxis to Wednesday”.
“We are well aware that the operators, as well as the businesses and residents from District Six, are eager for this relocation to happen as soon as possible,” Purchase said.
The site is situated on the harbour side between DF Malan and Christiaan Barnard streets and borders FW de Klerk Boulevard.
“The City is doing all it can to speed up the work,” Purchase said and added guardrails had been erected along FW de Klerk Boulevard.
“To date, 1200 tons of milling have been delivered. This is being used to flatten the parking surface and to convert the site under the freeway bridge into a temporary holding facility to accommodate approximately 270 minibus-taxis. The flattening of the surface cannot take place in damp conditions, and we are working around the clock to get this done before the next rains arrive,” she said.
“One of the unintended consequences of the recent refurbishment of the station deck rank is that the facility can no longer accommodate the same number of vehicles as before. As a result, about 250 minibus taxi operators have been displaced and have moved onto vacant sites in mainly District Six where they park their vehicles while they are waiting for the next peak hour period.”
Purchase said the transport directorate was still reviewing the layout of the station deck minibus facility for a longer term solution to accommodate more taxis during the off-peak periods.
This comes after commuters and taxi operators were excited about the City’s R2million upgraded station deck, but were disappointed to discover the revamp did little to ease peak-hour congestion. Taxi operator Isaac Goliat said the City must constantly meet and ask for ideas before making decisions that include them.
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