Taxi's in South Africa

Taxi's in SA

This is going tot be one weird article but today I would like to discuss the taxi's that are in South Africa. They are practically the rulers of the road, but not a lot of South Africans knows how it's runned.

Well let's start small. With the discussion to what they all about.

The local taxi's organization breaks off into quiet a few branches, but generally it's controlled by one big organization.

There are small business. Small Business is what local calls taxi's that are practically old Toyota corolla and old golf citi. They mainly are situated in local townships. They accommodate for only a specific group, and that's the township. Small business cars mainly requires one passenger to sit in the front and three squished passengers to sit at the back. I personally try get taxis where the front seat is available. The small business works distinctively within township and doesn't travel any further.

There are the "caracara" or kombi. They are another branch of taxi's, they provide transport to local township as well as going to places close to the township. They are taxi drivers which basically drive

old VW mini bus or this other ugly Toyota mini bus (forgot the name of it). 

Then we have our Quantum. Quantum are the real big boy's. Although the Quantum group breaks up into two distinct groups small Quantum and big Quantum, they practically the same. The big Quantum practically travel to province to province (state to sate), local townships, near cities and even within the whole province it's in. The much smaller Quantum is usually limited within Province. They are the heart to South Africa's transportation. They are practically taxi drivers that drive Quantum's.

 There are other huger mini buses used (like the Mercedes Benz Sprinter 413 CDI Minibus). But they fall in the category of Quantum's. 

These local transportation started long time ago. During Apartheid Black at a poin depended on whites for everything. At a point the whites were who gave transportation to blacks to their white given job, which paid for their white food. 

There was a point in time blacks got sick of it and started doing things for themselves, starting with black transportation and moving to black hospitals. The taxi organization is not just a transport system but a movement and now its something we can look back on and smile.

Little did blacks know that the taxi business was a hit,it pulled more money than anything. That was basically because it was way cheaper than white owned transportation. This is not maths, but money + money = greed (that is just general knowledge). Taxi owners started making small organizations. With that they started claiming routes.

Business is where the people are at. People are not everywhere, people are at specific places. People are at malls, work or at a popular club. And taxi owners knew that so they claimed their route which favored them.

I mean let's look it at it this way. You have a taxi, your friend Bill and Bob have a taxi. Bill and Bod are your closes friend so you guys join forces and form your own mini organization. You discovered there is a route that passes the mall of Africa and goes to Hillbrow, and you discover a lot of people are going to hill brow are at Mall of Africa. What do you do? You do what the British did when they found gold in South Africa, you put your flag down and claim it with you and your friends. Even though it's not practically your route but you still claim it anyways.

 Years later you get old and can't drive a taxi anymore, but you still discovered that route. Why not allow others to take the route and instead of owning them make them pay you royalties. There! right there is why taxi's are paying a group of people.

You see taxi's pay guys at the street holding clipboards and that aren't copes, well! Buddy hes paying his royalties for hat route he's using.

  

this is how our taxi ranks look like

That is why there is a lot of scandals happening with this taxi business's because there's money, and everyone wants their taste f the pie.

There was this individual living in Mamelodi (township). He paid owned the most taxi's and had people working for him, but still paid for those routes taken. SA's government wanted to promote taxi business to keep going, so they paid a few  individuals with successful taxi business to buy more. months later bang bang he died.

People believe he passed because of the taxi organization. Well yes. Just boils down to some dude asked themselves "why is he paying such a small royalty to the organization when he got paid millions by the government, he should pay some of that?".

There are there other small taxi transportation, like uber, proper taxi's and e.t.c. But they just don't win the hearts of South Africans as local taxis are more cheaper.