Transnet has extended its truck booking system to the Durban Multi-purpose Terminal (MPT), the third to come on board.
It enables transporters to book delivery slots 48 hours in advance or cancel a booking two hours prior to the time slot.
“Initially 30 slots per hour will be allocated over a 24-hour period based on demand and capacity. A grace period of 15 minutes before or after the allocated slot time will be granted and dual transactions will be allowed on a single appointment during shift change,” said terminal manager Phumi Blose.
“No trucks will be allowed to park and wait for an appointment to be made and any trucks that arrive at the terminal without an appointment will be turned away,” she said.
For the time being, the booking system does not apply to breakbulk cargo, which remains a manual process.
“With us going live as the September month begins and it being a new system, we will keep a minimum number of reach stackers on stand-by to service gate operations. This will ensure service integrity should there be any glitches related to operating equipment,” said Blose.
She added that the number of slots would be reviewed in line with planned demand.