The taxi rank built for R17m by City of Ekurhuleni in Duduza has been left unused since its opening three months ago because local operators say they were not consulted about its construction plan.
At the same time, residents say they also do not see the need for the facility as they have other urgent developmental needs such as shopping and banking services.
However, the municipality has rubbished the claims, saying both the residents and the local taxi association were informed. Above that, Ekurhuleni says the rank had been on the city’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) for Duduza for some time, due to the pressing transport needs of the community.
The city opened the Bluegum View taxi rank in April, but the millions spent on it seem to have been in vain as taxi operators continue to use an unofficial rank in the township’s Section 15.
While the municipal spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said the city was surprised at the taxi drivers not using the rank, the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) said the associations in the area were not consulted.
“No-one consulted us, despite it being common cause that we are consulted on such [projects] as stakeholders, often as [an] intermediary between the city and taxi associations,” said Santaco’s Ekurhuleni regional secretary, Zwelibanzi Mnisi.
“We were not engaged throughout the processes as the regional structure,” Mnisi added.
Dlamini said the rank was built in response to the need in the area, which was established through the IDP process.
“There is no way that the municipality would have built this thing without having consulted,” he said.
“We handed over that taxi rank to the taxi operators that are supposed to use it, and it’s fully functional. If there are people who have to explain why they are not using it, it has to be the taxi operators.