Carolina taxi rank eagerly awaited

The taxi rank in Carolina, being built at more than R10 million, will bring relief to the sometimes congested current parking lot near a shopping centre.

In a media briefing held at the municipal offices by the Executive Mayor Mr D.P. Nkosi and Acting Municipal Manager Mr Mandla Dlamini, they said the project was now at least 95 per cent complete.

Mr Nkosi said the first phase of the project began last year and was expected to be completed this year, adding that taxi owners and operators were actively involved through the transport forum in the progress of the structure, as they are the main users of the facility.

Mr Dlamini said the municipality had set aside R4 million towards the project for this financial year and that it had also brought job opportunities to locals.

Chairman of the Carolina Taxi Association, Mr Moses Nkomonde, said as much as these were much awaited developments, they were not entirely satisfied with some of the details regarding the structure.

“Indeed we are happy that the municipality has finally built us the taxi rank, but we are not pleased with its positioning, as it is built behind the shopping centre, which poses security concerns, particularly to our female customers at night. There’s no proper shelter for passengers waiting to board, which will be a problem on rainy days,” Mr Nkomonde said in a telephonic interview.

However, most of the passengers who spoke to the Highvelder were not really bothered about the location of the structure. They said they were happy to have a proper structure.

The chairman also referred to current delays in the process and called on the municipality to intervene as a matter of urgency.

At the time of going to print, the Highvelder was unable to verify or confirm the delays mentioned by Mr Nkomonde.