„I protect my costumers“

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – It is late afternoon and the roads in the Suburbs of the metropolitan region of Cape Town are busy. Simon has already completed ten hours of his 12-hour shift. He sits relaxed behind the steering wheel and chews gum. He looks young.  The atmosphere is as usual on the main traffic road towards the center. Loud shouting and whistling surrounds us: „Town, Town, Town“. It will continue in a moment. Because like me, many other people wave at the side of the road to show that they would like to ride along for a few rands. 

This is the main public transport here. Just as in Asia there are small green and yellow vehicles, here these Toyota minibuses taxis are a dime a dozen. They are the main means of transport for the majority of the population in South Africa. In the Western Cape province alone, around 4.8 million trips are made every month. That is roughly 160 thousand journeys per day. With an over R40 billion (2.25 billion) per annum industry with 200 000 taxis creating approximately 250 000 direct and indirect job opportunities. Taxis are not only important for transport, but also an important employer in a country where about a third of the people are unemployed. 

Simon is 28 years old and originally from Nairobi, Kenia. He is one of the many drivers who operates between Cape Town city Centre and Wynberg six to eight times a day, driving hundreds of people. When I ask him to answer a few questions about his profession, he knocks on the passenger seat. I climb over the center console and he offers me chewing gum. “Even I don’t know. It is a long story. But it is quick money. A friend recommended it to me.” is his answer when asking him about the reason he came to South Africa. With only 18 years he started working everyday a twelve-hour shift from six o’clock in the morning until six in the evening. His kilometer display shows around 350.000 kilometers roughly. “It is an old car, but it still works the only problem is that it takes a lot of petrol. Petrol is expensive these days. Sometimes it’s hard sometimes it’s easy.” 

The young man explains to me on the subject of safety that his taxi is part of the Blue Dot Taxi programme. A project that was started in May last year by the Department of Transport and Public Works partnering with the City of Cape Town and also other local authorities and members of the minibus taxi industry to improve public transport in terms of security and safety in the Western Cape. The better driving behaviour and service quality while reducing the likelihood of illegal activity and violent conflict. The aim is to improve driving behaviour as well as service quality. This should significantly reduce the likelihood of illegal activities and violent conflicts. Participating taxis must agree to t to the installation of vehicle trackers on board. These record speeding, hard cornering, hard braking, and rapid acceleration. Adherence to the route can also be tracked in this way. Furthermore, one undertakes to ensure that the vehicle driven is roadworthy and safety checked. In addition, a professional driver’s license must be presented, and a Blue Dot safety training must be completed. The whole driving experience can be supplemented by feedback from passengers and other road users via SMS. Passengers can recognize the taxis by the large blue sticker dots.

Simon also had to go through a whole training course. He grins at me and points at the sticker next to his steering wheel: „It’s not so easy to get a Blue Dot licence“. For some participants it was not easy as they must pass a health check as well. Among other things, the eyesight is tested. „Many don’t manage the balancing. There is the time and you want a lot costumers. Time is pressing. But we [as blue dots] don’t speed – we can only drive 60 kilometres per hour.“ Nevertheless, there are of course accidents, he admits. But this is mainly caused by drivers who push unnecessarily or by drunk drivers. 

Despite such measures, however, accidents are still frequent. Just last month ten people were injured when a minibus-taxi rolled over on Nelson Mandela Boulevard in Walmer Estate in the district of Mowbray Cape Town. Another accident also caused a stir in Cape Town and South Africa in 2021. More than 20 schoolchildren between the age of six and 14 were injured when a taxi crashed into a barrier at Parliament. Many children were seriously injured. The taxi was overloaded and the Western Cape Department of Education says initial investigations indicated that the driver and the vehicle were unlicensed. Parents were then reminded of the importance of ensuring that drivers are authorised to drive. 

Of course, the question then arises: But how do the many accidents involving minibus taxis happen in the first place? One of the surrounding reasons is distractions as the roads are usually already quite busy. Phone calls, conversations, the typical loud music, organising the payment of cash can be the cause for an often fatal second. Also often the wages rely upon the amount of passengers they carried in a day, the drivers speed return quickly to carry new passengers ignoring speed limits and red lights. Lack of health and safety legislation also leads to drivers working too long without a break. The result is fatigue and thus slower attention and reaction. Last but not least the Influence of alcohol on South African roads play a big role. According to the Driver intoxication and fatal crashes report from Road Traffic Management Cooperation (RTMC) drunk driving accounted for 27.1% of fatal crashes in the country 2020. 

If one takes a closer look around in a cab an unbelievable amount happens at the same time on the drive, Simon and his colleague are always on the lookout for new customers, music plays in the background and then the rand notes and coins are passed around the car. The majority is collected from the driver. If someone has a 100 Rand note, the driver changes it on the side. That seems to be a matter of course here. Another thing that stands out. If there is an obligation to wear a seat belt, no one does so. There is also no sign requiring them to do so. The seatbelts are present, but they are neatly fastened behind the back, firmly attached to the backrest. As a rule, the second driver always sits briefly on a padded wooden box, pulls open the door and jumps back in. However, the whole situation seems natural for all involved. I mention the passenger security when it comes to robberies concerns. The Kenyan says to me, three times, very clearly: “I protect my costumers – I would protect you. My job is not easy, but I love people. That is the best thing about my job.” 

So it can be said that the minibus cabs have two sides. On the one hand, they are the number one means of transport, on the other hand, accidents happen every day. Ronni and Tracy are siblings. He has also been driving a cab since he was 18. „There are some bad apples here, you better stay on the big routes, otherwise it’s okay like that“. His sister says that sometimes she would like to see more recognition, after all, people depend on cab drivers, at least those who can’t afford their own car: „They need to show us more respect. If they would ride with us like you do, they would know that it’s not all bad.“ I ask, yes, by that she means the white people.

Simon tells also tells me that Xenophobia is also particularly evident in public transport as drivers are from all over Africa. With a per capita consumption Gini coefficient of 67 in 2018, South Africa is the most unequal country in the world, according to the latest World Bank data. South Africa’s underlying problems are evident and present in everyday life. What is clear is that the minibus cab will remain the main means of transport. With initiatives such as the Blue Dot or speed-triggered warning tones, as the University of Stellenbosch has already researched, we may see improvement in the future. Until then, experienced cab commuters recommend: to prefer Blue Dot cabs, to avoid secluded routes, not to get into empty cabs, not to be seduced by strange drivers and to be basically attentive and confront traffic violations loudly.