Mayoral Committee Member for Transport Felicity Purchase said minibus taxis serving local destinations will operate from the Grand Parade opposite the Cape Town City Hall in Darling Street as from Wednesday 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 from all over Cape Town disembark or fetch minibus taxis from this rank,” she said.

Purchase said the City’s Transport Directorate has agreed to invest R2 million to improve the facilities at the station deck.

“Given the traffic and the number of commuters this rank accommodates every day, it has reached a point where we must undertake urgent repair and refurbishment work,” Purchase said.

Maintenance works include the repainting of certain buildings, road markings, lighting repairs, repairing of potholes and cracks in the road surface and pavements, and restoring the destination boards to assist commuters to find the correct departure lanes to their destinations.

“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 have access to the station deck, but access will be limited in the areas where the work is happening,” Purchase stated.

According to Purchase some traders and retail outlets will be affected, however it will only be temporarily.

Minibus taxis serving local destinations would not be allowed onto the station deck during maintenance work is being conducted.

“We will inform operators and commuters once the refurbishment had been completed, only then would they be allowed onto the station deck. We anticipate the closure would only be for four to five weeks, depending on any unforeseen delays,” she said.

The minibus taxi associations had been informed of the temporary arrangement in December 2018, and leaflets would be distributed to commuters and other users at the station deck as from Monday.

Temporary lanes for the various routes would be demarcated at the Grand Parade to indicate where commuters should embark and disembark. These included lanes for routes to Langa, Gugulethu, Samora Machel, Nyanga, Lower Philippi, Hanover Park, Kensington, Mitchells Plain, Delft, Khayelitsha, Mfuleni, Milnerton, Dunoon, Manenberg, Bonteheuwel, Heideveld, Bridgetown, Mowbray, and Wynberg; as well as bays for those taxis serving Atlantis, Silversands, Sea Point, Hout Bay, and Bellville.

“The minibus taxis will enter the Grand Parade in Castle Street and there are two exits – one in Castle Street and the other in Darling Street. Other road users must therefore anticipate an increase in the number of minibus taxis on the roads in this area over the next few weeks,” Purchase said.