The persistence of unsafe, unregulated minibus taxis in Johannesburg reveals how apartheid’s spatial inequalities continue to shape the failures of South Africa’s transport system.
- The majority of Johannesburg residents depend on the informal minibus taxi industry for daily commutes.
- Lives of passengers are endangered daily when commuting in unroadworthy minibus taxis, driven by unlicensed drivers, while taxi associations remain inaccessible to passengers.
- The minibus taxi industry has the potential to deliver world-class transport; the government and taxi stakeholders need to work together in formulating implementable policies.
Silindelo Sithole, a resident of Alexandra township in Johannesburg, sits with his long legs pressed against one of the two-seaters in the third row from the door in a Siyaya minibus taxi at the MTN taxi rank.
Sithole, 25, holds his breath and silently prays as a visibly drunk man climbs into the driver’s seat. In disbelief, he realises the drunken man will be driving him for the next 20 minutes, from the rank in downtown Johannesburg to Alexandra.
“Taxi people really treat us like trash,” says Sithole, five days later, still visibly shaken.
Minibus taxi drivers in Johannesburg are infamous for breaking traffic rules. Drunk driving, driving without a valid driver’s or vehicle license, skipping red lights, driving on pavements, and overloading taxis. Some of the taxis are poorly maintained and unroadworthy. All these actions compromise the safety of passengers.
Black commuters have faced transport issues since the apartheid era. Apartheid urban planning gave priority to spatial segregation, keeping black South Africans on the outskirts of the city and white people closer to the centre. It had no regard for transport issues that would arise because of said planning. Consequently, black people were forced to rely on public transport, trains and buses, which were neither efficient nor easily accessible.
The lack of accessible transport for black people made way for the introduction of privately owned minibus taxis in townships during the 1970s and early 1980s. Minibus taxis would carry commuters from townships and rural areas to cities for jobs, education, and health facilities.
The unregulated minibus taxi industry was built out of necessity and as a form of resistance to apartheid laws and regulations, which provided limited transport for black people to access non-white areas. Black people became dependent on it for everyday commutes, and due to the apartheid government’s neglect of the industry, it was left to grow massively. Over 70% of South African commuters rely on minibus taxis, according to The National Taxi Alliance (NTA). In some rural or low-income areas, public transport does not even exist, commuters rely solely on minibus taxis.
With the legacy of urban spatial planning still influencing urban use of transport in post-apartheid South Africa, what used to be a race divide is now a class divide. Public transport use has declined, as issues of its inefficiency prevail. This decrease has further fuelled the growth of the privately owned minibus taxi industry. Today with over 3,000 taxis operating in Johannesburg and generating R100-billion annually in the entire country according to the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO), the industry’s scale belies its informality — a paradox that highlights the state’s failure to regulate one of its most critical urban services.
Thirty-one years after apartheid, the minibus taxi industry still exhibits fierce resistance to regulation and formalisation. It remains a flashpoint of chaos and violence, fuelled by route competition, disputes, assault, and assassinations. During this turbulent power struggle, it is the innocent commuters who bear the brunt of the consequences. In some cases, the assaults are so severe, commuters feel helpless to a point of sacrificing their income, by resigning work or using costly e-hailing services.
A case that illustrates the outcomes of taxi driver’s assaults is that of Nthabiseng Tsunke, a 29-year-old woman hailing from Tshepisong in the West Rand region, who uses a wheelchair. Tsunke claims she resigned from her Information Technology learnership at Bytes Technology, Randburg in 2018 due to lack of assistance boarding taxis during transit.
The Randburg drivers at MTN taxi rank would refuse to help, and constantly nag her with questions regarding the whereabouts of her family members. They would speculate that Tsunke’s family only supports her when it is time for South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) disability grant payouts.
“Each person pays for a seat in a taxi; imagine travelling with someone everywhere I go?” said a frustrated Tsunke. “Also, when I get to work, what would that person be doing?” There are many passengers who feel discriminated and disrespected in taxis. With little to no knowledge of what to do in such situations.
In its current state, the Johannesburg minibus taxi industry does not exhibit characteristics favourable for a world-class African city. Formalising the industry would bring the city closer to world class African standards by ensuring that drivers adhere to road rules and get trained to offer inclusive customer care. Commuters like Sithole and Tsunke would experience safe and inclusive commutes.
Efforts to bring the taxi industry out of the shadows
Through its Taxi Recapitalisation Programme (TRP), the national Department of Transport has been making efforts to move the taxi industry from the informal sector – “the shadows” – to part of the mainstream economy. Since the launch of the programme in October 2006, it has dismally failed to formalise the taxi industry.
This resistance to formalisation and innovation is due to the government’s lack of consultation and collaboration with taxi stakeholders, reported journalist Ivo Vegter in his 2020 report on South Africa’s minibus taxi industry. Santaco rejected the National Land Transport Bill of 2008, which aimed at formalising the taxi industry. The bill also aimed at integrating the taxi industry with the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system. The association claimed this bill is part of the government’s plot to strip them of the taxi industry, thus close their businesses.
Recent reports by the department show it has, however, managed to scrap 84,150 old taxis across the country. Despite this achievement, there remain many taxis that operate in questionable conditions in Johannesburg, such as the old Toyota minibus taxis, ‘Siyaya’, which are poorly maintained and only kept on the road to maximise profit.
The government’s failure to scrap all unroadworthy taxis and provide reliable, safe public transport exposes citizens to toxic gases. During one encounter, when I was traveling from Marshalltown to South Hills, the taxi we were in started fuming. The driver parked the taxi by the side road and asked the front-seat passengers to get off. That was because smoke was coming from a part located underneath the front middle space between the driver’s and passenger’s seats.
If it isn’t gas, it’s rainwater coming through the loose part between the taxi door and its frame, says Sithole. The majority of the Siyaya minibus taxis have low suspensions because they are old. While an article from TimesLivedetails the consequences of driving a vehicle with a lowered suspension, another one from Independent Online News (IOL) claims it is illegal. When the Department of Transport scraps these taxis from the road, their actions are met with a lot of backlash.
When unroadworthy and unlicensed vehicles are scrapped off the road or impounded, taxi owners and drivers strike, and commuters are then left to struggle for transport. This highlights how taxi owners prioritise profit over the safety and comfort of residents.
While the scrapping of old minibus taxis is not favourable to some taxi owners, it is essential in ensuring that citizens commute in safe, well-maintained, and roadworthy minibus taxis. An ideal world-class African city should guarantee passengers’ commutes that do not pose a danger to their health.
Cash care measures within the minibus taxi industry
To find out what citizens can do to report rude and drunk drivers, I went to the Faraday Taxi Association (FTA) offices in Yeoville, where I was referred to the headquarters in Rosettenville, South of Johannesburg. The taxis to Rosettenville are located at Faraday taxi rank, an approximate fifteen-minute walk from the Johannesburg CBD. Residents pass abandoned buildings and informal settlements to get to the taxi rank. Alternatively, residents pay R6 for a taxi from Mable Towers, located at 208-212 Jeppe street, to the Faraday taxi rank. The walk there, however long, does become longer and very unsafe when the sun starts going down.
Upon arrival at the association offices, three taxi association branded vehicles are parked outside. Approximately ten men stand, guns on their belts, eating and chatting. I approach a member of the taxi association squad team, who agrees to talk under the condition of anonymity. He shares there are five groups in the FTA. Each number represents specific areas: F1-Faraday, F2-Bree, F3-Kensington, F4-Yeoville branch, and F5-Little Zands.
The squad is stationed at ranks under FTA dailyfrom 5am till 6:30pm. Their main objective is attending to passenger grievances says another man, who wishes not to be named for fear of safety.
He emphasises that minibus taxi commuters need to report lost items and open harassment cases to the squad. “When opening a case, commuters must bring the number plate of a taxi and its travelling time,” he says, because “These details are important when reporting a case as many people do not know the names of the drivers.”
Moreover, not all cases are resolved at the taxi rank, some are taken to the FTA headquarters. Likewise, punishment dependents on the level of offence. Some cases like refusing to give a passenger change warrantees a fine while others like drunk driving result in suspension.
From the information shared by the FTA squad member, it is clear all reports are made in person. This is mainly because the FTA does not have a business website. A quick Google search shows only the headquarters’ address. There are no contact details and business hours. A Facebook page, ‘Faraday Taxi Association,’ has 2,700 followers and focuses on selling cars – none of the contact details available online go through.
The FTA’s lack of online presence, as one of the major taxi associations in Johannesburg, reflects the industry’s resistance to formalisation. The industry is stuck with traditional ways of business operation, and these are costly to commuters; they must travel to ranks and association offices to open cases, increasing barriers between the associations and the citizens they claim to serve. The industry lacks good customer care measures, but often resorts to violence to protect its cash.
It is not enough that associations exist, they should be conveniently accessible. Currently, the absence of an active online presence is a technological setback. To achieve a world class African city, the minibus taxi industry needs to offer customer care services, as tabled in the 2020 National taxi lekgotla.
How does South Africa compare?
People from all around the world reside and work in the Johannesburg. Their experiences of Johannesburg’s minibus taxi transport are mostly in comparison with their country’s experiences. Paulin Bitokwela, originally from The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is currently residing South of Johannesburg. He compliments the order that exists within the Joburg taxi ranks, pointing out there is a guaranteed first-come, first-serve policy because of the queueing system.
“In many towns in Congo, people do not queue, people squabble to get into the vehicle. The situation is much better in towns like Lubumbashi, but it really does not compare to the order in Joburg,” he says. Bitokwela aadds that in DRC, whenever residents have a problem with taxis, they complain on television shows and directly to the minister’s office, unlike in South Africa, where minibus taxi complaints are mostly directed to taxi associations.
Tlotlo Oletile, a chemical engineer from Botswana who came to Johannesburg in 2022 as part of her exchange programme with the University of Johannesburg seems to agree with Bitokwela on reporting to the department of transport. She said in a WhatsApp interview what she experienced in Joburg minibus taxis was a huge cultural shock. After unknowingly sitting in the front seat, “People passed their money to me and I was supposed to count the money and give people change,” says Oletile, laughing at the recollection of her experience. “I was so surprised because in Gaborone every taxi has a conductor who counts.”
I was so surprised because in Gaborone every taxi has a conductor who counts.
Oletile also points out the advantage that comes with calling out your stop; in Johannesburg you just say “short left” and the taxi stops, while in Gaborone there are designated bus stops which are 200-400m apart. Bitokwela’s compliment of the Johannesburg’s taxi industry’s queueing system and Oletile’s appreciation of the taxi drivers stopping anywhere are testament to the potential Johannesburg taxi industry has to offer world-class African city treatment to its customers.
To fulfil this potential, South Africa should consult with other African countries that have an improved minibus taxi system. The government conducted investigations with various BRT systems such as Ecuador and ColombiaBrisbane, Australia to develop Rea Vaya — a fast, safe, and affordable bus system. These consultations proved vital in the production of a transit system that would play a key role in realising the vision to turn Johannesburg into a world-class African city. The same can be done to improve our minibus taxi industry, such as consulting with countries that have a formalised minibus taxi industry like Botswana.
Vegter, a journalist who worked on a minibus taxi report recommends the government should consult local minibus taxi associations stakeholders when drawing up policies. “These policies should abolish anti-competition behaviours, unsafe vehicles, overloading, and reckless driving. Which would promote competition and improve customer experiences for taxi passengers,” he writes
FEATURED IMAGE: The cash minibus taxi industry of South Africa. Passengers paying their taxi fare. Photo: Lulah Mapiye
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