R2M TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE TO FIX STATION TAXI HUB

THOUSANDS of commuters pass through the Cape Town taxi rank daily.

The station deck provides a massive space for taxis to drop off and pick up travellers getting to and from work, and is also the lifeblood of hundreds of entrepreneurs who ply their trade from a variety of stalls.

But, the place is a mess. Lanes are demarcated by temporary concrete highway barrier slabs, loosely assembled and covered in obscene graffiti; the paved surface is pockmarked and riddled with potholes; cracked and broken paving slabs and manhole covers pose a threat to pedestrians; unsavoury characters abound, and litter is commonplace.

Don’t the residents of Cape Town deserve better from the “best-run city in the country”?

The City has announced that the station deck is due for an upgrade, and this week, the closure will commence, leaving commuters to make use of the Grand Parade as a makeshift taxi rank for four to five weeks. What this will do to traffic coming into town from Nelson Mandela Boulevard and Philip Kgosana Drive via District Six remains to be seen.

What really irks is the paltry R2 million set aside for the revamp, which is akin to putting Band-Aids on injuries that require far greater intervention.

The station deck is a vital transport hub with the potential to be a space commuters can traverse with pride. It could even become a sought-after tourist hot spot.

The money being spent is barely worth cosmetic changes at best.