Photo Credit: www.insidebiz.co.sz
By Ntokozo Nkambule
The Municipal Council of Mbabane has revealed that it is in the process of developing a new satellite bus rank for the city.
This was communicated by the Municipality’s Director of Technical Services Muzikayise Masina during a media tour hosted by the organization in the capital city. The bus rank will be developed next to the Central Transport Organization (CTA) and is around one hectare in size.
Masina explained the rationale of the new satellite bus rank, stating that the municipality aims to reduce the congestion at the Mbabane bus rank. “The aim of the proposed bus rank is to reduce the current congestion at the bus rank. This is just one of the few satellite bus ranks we are working on, as we have another one at Fonteyn for instance. It is also important to state that the CTA bus rank is where kombis and buses will be stationed after offloading commuters and will go back to the main bus rank when it’s their turn to load commuters”.
Furthermore, Masina disclosed that the CTA bus rank would be able to accommodate a total of 80 kombis and 20 buses. He said the project will cost the municipality just over E7 million. “We have already pumped money into the project, as there are things like drainage costs that have to be considered. In terms of completion, we believe that this satellite bus rank will be completed during the course of 2023”
The Mbabane Municipal Council CEO, Gideon Mhlongo who was also present during the media tour added that this move by the Municipality follows a E1 million study they conducted to ascertain the reason behind the congestion in the bus rank. He said the study revealed that in most countries kombis and buses do not park in the bus rank after offloading commuters which is what has led to such congestion.