EAST LONDON- In a major boost to commuters and taxi drivers the newly upgraded Ebuhlanti Taxi Rank in Buffalo street, East London has been officially launched by Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality Executive Mayor Cllr Princess Faku and Taxi Industry chairperson in the province Gabs’Putin‘ Mtshala.
The official launch took place on this rank on 25th November 2024 the upgraded facility which was made possible by R17 million investment, is expected to greatly improve the commuting experience especially during the busy summer holiday season.
Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality(BCMM) Executive Mayor Cllr. Princess Faku encouraged taxi owners to keep the structure clean and beautiful.
Cllr Faku had this to say, “We want to ask everyone to be involved in keeping the city clean and we thank you for a smooth relationship during the construction of this taxi rank. We wanted hawkers to be able to sell their food in a dignified place.”
According to Representative of Melta Taxi Association in East London Gabs Mtshala, “As taxi drivers and owners we have a responsibility to keep the rank clean as we won’t tolerate vandalism and unclean space, we are grateful to the BCMM for building us the taxi rank, the rank is fenced, which will make it safe for everyone.”
Chairperson of Hawkers Associations in Tsholomnqa Nobuntu Mafanya thanked the City for the initiative and beautiful structure saying, “We appreciate the efforts of the City in providing us with a safe and clean environment to operate in. As hawkers, since 1990 we have been complaining about the conditions of the rank and now we are grateful that it has been fixed. We are 39 hawkers and now everyone has their own stall.”
In addition General Manager of Nicksfood SuperSpar in East London Shanon Lennox said, “We opened our store 18 years ago and this area was rural rubble, now it’s great to see this new taxi rank as the cameras installed will assist us in preventing crime. I’m confident that my customers are now safer.”
The launch of the upgraded taxi rank is a significant step towards improving public transportation services in the area, with its modern facilities and amenities the Ebuhlanti Taxi Rank is set to become a hub of activity, providing a safe and convenient commuting experience for thousands of people.
photograph: Taxi Image
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