February 19, 2003

BARAGWANATH taxi rank, the biggest and busiest bus and taxi rank in Soweto, is set to get a major facelift, thanks to a whopping R60-million government funding over a three-year period.

To kick-start the project, the city council has approved the transfer of R10-million to the Johannesburg Roads Agency to be used for the realignment of Old Potchefstroom Road in front of the hospital. Thus the first phase of the project will see the road being shifted to the south, against the hospital boundary wall, to make way for the expansion of the rank.

According to Rod Pearce, the project manager, work on the road will commence soon and should be completed by October this year. Pearce said disruptions on the busy road would be kept to a minimal.

Its location just opposite the Baragwanath Hospital, the biggest hospital in Africa, and along Old Potchefstroom Road, the main arterial road into Soweto, makes the taxi rank strategically important. The facility is a major gateway to a cluster of townships that make up Soweto. Many tourists catch their first glimpse of Soweto from the bridge of the hospital, a prime spot that provides an aerial view of the township.

By far the busiest spot in Soweto, the rank is a premier inter-modal transport interchange node in the township. The high volume of pedestrians in and around the rank makes it a lucrative market for informal traders, who can be seen peddling an assortment of goods at the rank. Bheki Sithole, spokesperson of the Bara-City Taxi Association, describes the rank as "our central point. All taxis converge here. If you want to travel anywhere in the township, you must first travel to Bara. It is the biggest transport interchange in Soweto." Bara is also used as a major terminus by local and long-distance buses.

However, in recent years, there has been a marked increase in the number of buses, taxis and hawkers operating from the rank, putting a strain on infrastructure. A study conducted in 2000 established that on an average working day, there were 630 taxis in the holding area. 2 000 taxis were estimated to be operating from the rank.

Under pressure, facilities in the rank began showing visible signs of decay. Sithole lamented the state of the rank, describing it as filthy. "Hawkers are not controlled and this causes commotion. The place near the Toby Garage, where Alberton taxis operate from, is full of mud and the main rank is full of potholes," he charged. Gibson Boikhutso, spokesperson for the Witwatersrand Taxi Association (WATA), the largest taxi association operating from the rank, expressed overall support for the development. "This rank cannot accommodate all our taxis. We definitely need more holding areas." Commuters in the rank are also at the mercy of the elements, as the shelter has clearly seen better days. Long-distance buses operate from the open space just opposite the main rank.

The development will thus see both bus and taxi holding areas being substantially increased and improved. The land to the south of the Lesedi Clinic is to be developed to cater for subsidised and long distance buses, with 25 bus bays being constructed. Pearce confirmed that a facility would be provided for tourist buses to park.

Hawkers, who currently sell their wares from makeshift stalls and often obstruct the pedestrian bridge going into the hospital, are to be provided with new, upgraded facilities in 2004. The bridge itself is to be upgraded. Lighting will also be provided to make the area safer.

The taxi rank started as a makeshift stop for buses transporting hospital staff and patients to the hospital in the 1940s.

"There were no taxis then. It was just a bus stop along the road," explains David Manana, a long-time Soweto resident and manager of the Strategic Business Unit at Putco Bus. "The taxis came on the scene much later and, as they mushroomed, they operated alongside buses. Later, the taxis encroached on bays allocated to Putco."

According to Manana, the rank was demarcated into bays for both buses and taxis, but there was no shelter for commuters. It was not until the 1980s that the then Diepmeadow Council erected proper shelter at the rank. "So stop calling it a taxi rank. That's a misnomer. Better call it a public transport facility," Manana says.

Whilst expressing overall support for the project, taxi operators expressed concern that they will be made to pay for the use of the new facilities. "We have been told that we'll be required to pay for the use of the newly revamped facilities. Imagine, if your taxi operates from the Westgate, Faraday, Bree Street and now Bara ranks, you end up paying a huge sum to the council. This is too much."