Commuters from around Thulamela, who were moved to a makeshift taxi rank next to the municipality's offices two years ago, are smiling again as a new taxi rank will open soon.

Phase I of the much-awaited Thohoyandou Public Transport Intermodal Facility next to Eskom's offices, which is an ultramodern taxi rank, could open at any time now. This was revealed during a site inspection at the new taxi rank by the mayor of Thulamela, Cllr Grace Mahosi, last Wednesday.

The R218 million project, the first of its kind in the province, with state-of-the-art facilities, was started in 2011 and was envisaged to be completed by 2012. During the visit, Mahosi was shown around the new facility by Mr Cuthbert Nzramzvike, the construction manager. Nzramzvike said had it not been for the added work on the project, they would have met the completion deadline.

Mahosi said now that the first phase had been completed, they were going to start with the second phase, which is the bus rank. "The facility will promote the use of public transport and reduce congestion on our roads. It will use the available space effectively and improve accessibility by being user friendly to disabled people."

The facility has offices for the taxi association, a recreational area for drivers, a security manning area, toilets, parking for taxis, stalls for hawkers, shops and an attractive water feature next to the stalls.