Construction is about to start on the last Integrated Rapid Transit (IRT) bus station for this phase of the project on the West Coast, ahead of the proposed launch later this year.

The Bayside station in Blaauwberg is at the end of a string of thirteen stations connecting the West Coast with the city centre, mostly along the R27. (view map) This starter service, which will be launched as soon after the 2010 FIFA World CupTM as possible, will give Cape Town a taste of what IRT is really like, with a dedicated bus lane and stations located at major intersections along the route in built-up areas.

The Bayside station will initially serve commuters along the West Coast including the suburbs of Tableview, Atlantis, Mamre, Dunoon and Doornbach.

All of the other stations along this route are in varying stages of completion. However, the relocation of minibus taxis ranking and stacking on Blaauwberg road around the site of the Bayside IRT station needed to be completed before construction could begin.

The Bayside station will be built in the middle of the two carriageways of Blaauwberg Road where it passes between the Bayside and Pick ‘n Pay shopping centres, next to the intersection with the R27. However, it’s not just about putting up a platform and station structure. The IRT system is designed to provide maximum accessibility, particularly to pedestrians and cyclists, and a large area around the station needs to be upgraded to make it safe and simple to use. This includes landscaping, cycle facilities and pedestrian plazas.

Upgrading the area surrounding the Bayside station is particularly important because of the large numbers of pedestrians and the high volumes of passengers that the station will serve. Given the space constraints, upgrading the area surrounding the Bayside station to accommodate the high volumes of passengers that the station will serve has been a particularly challenging design for engineers, requiring extensive construction on the edges of Blaauwberg road where taxis previously loaded passengers.

The Bayside Mall shopping centre management has played an important role in the relocation of the mini-bus taxis stacking on Blaauwberg Road by providing a temporary site for a minibus taxi loading zone in their parking area, near the previous site.

Because the new area is used only for the collection and drop off of passengers, the preloading, stacking and queuing of taxis takes place at the Potsdam Transport Interchange down the road. The City has recognised that this arrangement may not be ideal for mini-bus taxis and is considering other options for stacking.

A system of access booms and two-way radios has been set up by the City to control movement by taxis between the waiting area at Potsdam and the passenger loading area at Bayside.

The relocation has given the City of Cape Town the opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to the IRT system, with a large show of support from a wide range of municipal departments, as well as from local businesses and the South African Police Services. Although the local taxi operators initially voiced some frustration with the increased regulation that the move has brought, the new system is working well and the City is in regular contact with the public transport industry in the area. Construction has also been able to progress thus far with minimal disruption to traffic in the area.