Cape Town - After the City of Cape Town announced its proposed changes to the Wynberg Public Transport Interchange (PTI), there has been mixed reactions from taxi associations.
The City has developed a plan for the PTI, better known as the minibus taxi rank.
It said the current facility is run down and stretched beyond its capacity, with nearly 48 000 commuters, 1 500 minibus taxis and Golden Arrow buses making use of the facility daily.
“With the imminent upgrade of the PTI comes a substantial capital injection that will have an immediate impact on the Wynberg CBD and surrounding neighbourhood. This will spur much-needed rejuvenation in conjunction with the provision of world-class public transport facilities.
“Officials from the Urban Mobility Directorate are presenting the proposed concept design for the refurbishment to the local sub-council, and residents and interested parties will have the opportunity to comment on this plan from November 7, 2022, to December 9, 2022,” mayoral committee member for urban mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas said.
The design proposes two minibus taxi facilities located to the north and east of the Wynberg railway station and features a new facility with two levels covering an area of approximately 25 000m².
The refurbishment will feature additional bus, walking and cycling lanes and road upgrades located between Brisbane Road and Morom Roads, bordering Wetton and Broad Roads.
A single-level facility located between the railway line and Ottery Road is part of the concept for taxis along Grassy Park and parts of the metro south routes.
It will be establishing two MyCiTi stations along Station Road and the realigned Sussex Road and drop-off and pick-up spots for Golden Arrow buses.
“The concept design pursues a vision for a Wynberg PTI that is modern, functional, efficient, convenient, safe, dignified and clean, and where commuters can easily transfer between the different modes of transport, from passenger rail to minibus-taxis, GABS, and the MyCiTi service.
“The current PTI is in a poor state, partly because of a lack of investment in prior years and also because the facility is not nearly big enough to accommodate all of the commuters and operators using this space.
“The surrounding transport infrastructure – these are the roads and walkways – is old and insufficient for the traffic volume, be it for pedestrians or vehicles.
“Commuters and operators are subjected to sun, rain, and wind all year long as there is no protection from the elements. Even the paving is uneven,” Quintas said.
He said the proposed concept design aims to address all these challenges while at the same time making provision for the roll-out of MyCiTi services to Wynberg in the next few years.
“It is an exciting project, and I’m sure commuters, operators, local residents, and business owners will support our efforts in giving this part of Wynberg a significant capital injection,” Quintas said.
He said the proposed one-way conversion and upgraded intersections would assist the traffic flow and smoothen the road-based public transport services to ensure efficient operations.
“The minibus taxi operators will greatly benefit. Each operator from the West-North; West-South; and East will have its own dedicated operations area, with its own facilities and dedicated entrance and exit routes.
“There will be sufficient space for ranking, drop-and-go, and parking between peaks. This over and above facilities to meet, rest, and so forth.
“Given that the concept design must still be finalised after public consultation, we do not know as yet the exact budget to be allocated to the new facility, but it will halt the urban decay that has affected this part of the Wynberg CBD for a long time.
“I trust the minibus-taxi operators will welcome the plan as the new facilities will bring order and flow to their operations, saving them time and money,” Quintas said.
However, not everyone is in agreement with the concept.
Amien Carlsen, from the Main Road Route Association, said there were major concerns about the City’s intentions to create one central loading area for all routes.
“Currently, the interchange is split along the railway line to provide ease of access to both commuters and drivers. With the proposed upgrade, City officials are seeking to sideline the concerns of the transport industry and effectively put an operational plan which only makes sense in theory.
“The Western Cape is gripped with violence, and incidents of widespread shootings amid taxi wars, have resulted in chaos across Cape Town when there are disagreements. It creates not only an unsafe environment for operators but for commuters. In Wynberg, this has largely been avoided due to the fact that the loading areas are split according to the routes,” Carlsen explained.
He said the Wynberg Interchange is an integral link between various Cape Flats routes, and the association has called on officials from the City to better consult and not only meet with them for ‘the sake of completing legal checks’.
“We are calling for proper public consultation to create an interchange that is not only functional but safe and clean for all our commuters,” Carlsen said.
Another taxi association told IOL while the City’s concept is all sunshine and rainbows, it will only cause war.
It said while they operate between Wynberg, the way things are run now is more logical than what is being proposed.
“While their fancy drawings and ideas are good and well, the City of Cape Town has not thought about the taxi industry. Their main aim is to roll out the MyCiTi routes, and while we cannot oppose that, commuters should be able to choose their mode of public transport. This will only cause bloodshed in the taxi industry.
“The loading areas have been split for a reason: so there could be no more violence, shootings, and robberies.
“Placing everyone in one area will see innocent people being hurt, also because the City of Cape Town wanted to save face.
“While they may not think much of taxi owners, drivers, we also have families to go back home to. We have buried too many of our own already.
“The City needs to speak to the MEC of transport. He could even tell them this is a bad move,” the association told IOL.
Wynberg Ratepayers Residents Association chairperson Joan Van Zyl told the Cape Argus the proposed changes were a long time coming.
Van Zyl said it was something that has been talked about for years and will affect residents.
She said she had seen some drawings for Claremont, but Wynberg has other complexities as it is a big hub.
Van Zyl has called on the City of Cape Town to give residents enough time pertaining to the proposed concept.
“We will present this plan to residents and other interested parties in November. This concept design is not final, and we will definitely assess all of the comments and proposals we receive from stakeholders and residents and interested and affected parties in the coming weeks.
“If all goes as planned, the detailed design should be concluded by the end of 2023, taking into account the comments submitted by the public on the concept design,” Quintas added.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
IOL