Abandoned taxi rank cause for concern

The Alberton SAPS committed to keeping a close eye on the abandoned but fully-constructed Alberton North taxi rank, which residents and businesses claimed attracted criminals to the area.

There were calls for the abandoned taxi rank on Kritzinger Road to be revived for its intended purpose because it attracts criminals and vagrants.

The taxi rank, initially built to serve the Alberton North residents, was never used for such. Instead, businesses in the area claimed it was used to shelter the homeless at night, thus bringing criminal activity.

Anubha Mackerdhuj, the director of Alberton Child Welfare, said, “That taxi rank has become an area attracting vagrants and criminal activities.

“If you look at belongings on the side, it looks like the homeless stay there overnight, and you don’t see many of them during the day. I’m sure they stay there because their stuff is there. We have received a few calls stating children were met outside that taxi rank, or there were concerns of a particular adult frequenting that area,” she explained.

She said the taxi rank had become a concern because it was near the Funny Farm informal settlement.

“The Funny Farm has many similar activities attached to it. Rather than the rank deteriorating to more like a crime spot, it should be used for its purpose. Down the road is the Department of Education and a preschool, and if you’re walking down it to your transport or home, it’s not a very nice place for children to walk on,” Mackerdhuj said.

Intervention

According to Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini, the Greater Alberton Taxi Association (GATA) uses the taxi rank.

He said people might have perceived the taxi rank was not operational because it was not too busy during the day because there is generally less movement in most taxi ranks off-peak.

“We have also communicated with the taxi association to ensure the rank is clean and used only for its intended purpose. It was meant to benefit the residents of Alberton North and the commuters who work in the area going to different destinations,” explained Dlamini.

When asked how much money was spent on its construction, he said this would be answered in due course, considering a long time had passed since the rank’s construction.

Speaking for GATA, Morena Mthunzi said their executive had committed to having some vehicles parked there during the day.

“The association decided to use the taxi rank again because it came to their attention that there were issues at the rank. The only problem we had was at night, but there was a solution that the association would lock up the rank. We’re still going to meet with local law enforcement to ask them to deploy officers to safeguard the rank,” he said.

Captain Manare Ramotshela of the Alberton SAPS told the Alberton Record they would task their operation members and intelligence to deal with this.

“As the Alberton SAPS, we are happy to get this information. We are arresting suspects found to be in possession of drugs. But at this point, we don’t have such alleged suspects dealing in drugs from the specific address, but I think soon we will have positive results,” he said.