R16-million more set aside for Thohoyandou's intermodal facility

Yet another R16-million is about to be pumped into the infamous Thohoyandou taxi rank, also described as an “intermodal transport facility”. The project was started some 14 years ago, with R350-million spent on what consumers describe as a really expensive “white elephant”.

The MEC for Transport and Community Safety, Florence Radzilani, announced on 19 March, when tabling her department’s budget for the new financial year, that more money had been set aside for the remedial work to be done on the Thohoyandou Intermodal Facility. “The funding should help us to unlock a long-standing standoff between the government and the public transport operators in Thulamela, who could not use the facility because of structural defects. We have resolved to continue work on this facility, while a litigation process is underway to recoup the monies that the government paid to the contractor. The subsidies we provide within the public transport fraternity have lessened the burden of transportation costs on our people as they traverse between their homes and workplaces,” said Radzilani.

The Thohoyandou Intermodal Transport Facility was launched in May 2011, and it was supposed to be a first-of-a-kind modern bus and taxi rank. The project was to serve as an example of what can be achieved, and something that other municipalities from across the province could learn from. However, things quickly turned sour, with sloppy work from contractors contributing to a facility that could not be used. Commuters in Thohoyandou had to continue using three different taxi and bus ranks, situated far from each other.

News - Date: 13 April 2024

Silas Nduvheni

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