UPGRADE FOR STATION DECK
CAPE Town’s station deck is from this week set to undergo renovations to the tune of R2 million.
Commuters were advised that from Wednesday the station deck minibus taxi facility in Cape Town’s central business district (CBD) will be temporarily closed for maintenance and repairs. Minibus taxis serving local destinations will be operating from the Grand Parade opposite the Cape Town City Hall in Darling Street until further notice.
“The station deck taxi rank dates back to 1996 when the roofscape of the Cape Town station was used as a minibus taxi rank for the first time. It’s one of the city’s busiest transport facilities and thousands of commuters from suburbs all over Cape Town disembark or fetch minibus taxis from this rank,” said the City’s mayoral committee member for transport, Felicity Purchase. Purchase said the City’s Transport Directorate will invest approximately R2 million to improve the facilities at the station deck.
“Long-distance taxi services won’t be affected and will continue to operate from the station deck while the maintenance is ongoing. The public will still be able to access the station deck, but access will be limited in the areas where the work is happening. Some traders and retail outlets may be affected, but this is for a limited period only. In the end, all of the station deck users will benefit from the upgrade, and we appeal to commuters to be patient while we’re busy doing repairs,” Purchase said.
Maintenance teams will paint the buildings and road markings, repair the lighting, repair potholes and cracks in the road surface and pavements, and restore the destination boards to assist commuters in finding the correct departure lanes to their destinations.
“Minibus taxis serving local destinations will not be allowed on to the station deck for as long as the maintenance work is ongoing. The operators and commuters will be informed once the refurbishment has been completed. It is safe to say that it will take at least four to five weeks, barring any unforeseen delays.
“The minibus taxi associations were informed of the temporary arrangement in December 2018, and leaflets will be distributed to commuters and other users at the station deck.
Temporary lanes for the various routes will be demarcated at the Grand Parade to show where commuters must embark and disembark. | Staff Reporter