Road Rage - Taxis

Having grown up in a family that owned taxis* not much surprises me - not the way they are driven, the attitudes of the drivers, or the general state of taxi disrepair (well, occasionally there is one so broken down that even I have to wonder how the owner could put the vehicle on the road in good conscience), the sliding door operators (yes this is a thing), the owners, and even the passengers. Until I started commuting regularly with the Bubbly and Brainy Bellas, none of that stuff would make me blink. They, however, have a tendency to lose their minds when taxis perform illegal manoeuvres, like driving over an island to overtake, driving over or in a yellow line, taking off while the robot** is red, and Bubbly's personal favourite, their tendency to stop in the middle of the road to pick up passengers. These are just a few examples, however the last one still elicits honking, pointing, and a few choice words from Bubbly Bella.

A taxi reversing down a road in Johannesburg

I found that using taxis in Durban and in Johannesburg is very different. Some of the differences that I struggled to get my head around were that Johannesburg does not have local taxis or local taxi fare. You have to pay the full fare unless you want to walk. The other thing that really bothered me is that you have to catch a taxi to the centre of Johannesburg if you want to get to the surrounding towns. For example when I had to travel from Roodepoort to Randburg which is approximately 16km away, I had to take a taxi going all the way to the centre of Johannesburg in order to catch a different one to Randburg. Twenty five Rand and an hour and a half later I couldn't help but shake my head at the ridiculousness of this whole situation. One can only think that there are not enough taxis to cover the direct routes. I am grateful this isn't the situation in Durban where the local taxis and local fares are most convenient.




This taxi was trying to dodge traffic by driving off road. The brave lady in front refused to let it pass

Despite these complaints, we cannot dispute that taxis are a vital part of the transportation system in South Africa. If only they would follow the rules of the road...

Much love and light
Bossy Bella

*For our readers not native to South Africa, taxis are minivans that serve as the main form of public transport in our beautiful country. They are designed to carry up to 20 passengers, but are frequently observed with closer to 30 people squished inside. There are multiple owners of taxi companies that service different routes. Unfortunately these routes are sometimes in dispute which often results in violent conflict.

**Traffic lights in all other countries.