Minibus Taxi Industry Research Articles

Deadly Journeys: Thabo Jijana’s Nobody’s Business, the Minibus Taxi Industry, and the Racial Politics of Mobility in Post-Apartheid South Africa

ABSTRACT This article examines the politics of mobility in post-1994 South Africa by paying attention to minibus taxis, which have received little consideration from literary scholars although they are ubiquitous in contemporary South African literature. Attending to the minibus taxis that pervade post-apartheid Black writing, I contend, sheds light onto the ongoing racialization of mobility in the country. Offering a socially situated reading of Thabo Jijana’s Nobody’s Business: A Taxi Owner, a Murder, and a Secret (2014), I show that the abysmal state of public transport in present-day South Africa is emblematic of larger realities of immobility which continue to structure the lives of most Black South Africans. Motivated by the death of his father, a taxi owner who was murdered at the job, Jijana’s searing investigative memoir provides a powerful lens into the underbelly of the minibus taxi industry and the violence that drives it. As it reveals the precarity that continues to characterize not just public transport, but every-day life for the Black majority, Nobody’s Business suggests that the politics of mobility in post-apartheid South Africa cannot be understood outside the racism and anti-Blackness that define the democratic dispensation.

Transport-related social exclusion and mobility in developing countries: the South African case

IntroductionTransport-related social exclusion has been studied in many countries, and from many different perspectives. In Africa, however, there is little recent research into the phenomenon, even though African cities tend to have poor transport services, urban sprawl is extensive usually resulting in long travel times and high travel costs, and certain areas experience high levels of crime. By implication, there are several factors that impact the ability of people to access economic and societal opportunities, however these are not well documented. Building on previous work from several authors, this research sought to describe transport-related social exclusion in a large metropolitan area in an emerging economy.MethodsUsing a qualitative methodology, 60 interviews were conducted with City of Johannesburg residents. The data was analyzed using manual thematic and classic content analysis.ResultsThe study found that residents often did not have access to services due to availability, but also that economic, geographic and fear-based exclusion were particularly prevalent in the sample, although there were several other psychological exclusion dimensions, as well as information exclusion.DiscussionThis study is the first recent study in South Africa to consider a wide range of commuters from varying demographic strata, thus providing a novel perspective on TRSE in a major urban area in the country. The study recommends that policy actions be considered, taking into account the minibus taxi industry, which is often overlooked in government policy. TRSE should also be an inherent element in urban (and other) transport planning, as well as take into account the broader societal realities faced by citizens. Future research directions include conducting broader quantitative studies across a variety of urban areas in South Africa, and beyond, to determine specific TRSE dimensions in various urban areas. Policy analysis is also recommended, to determine TRSE policy gaps and align interventions with specific commuter needs.

Grade 6 primary school learners’ views on minibus taxis and their drivers

Background: This study identifies potential assets of the minibus taxi industry space and alerts taxi drivers to the expectations of various role-players in education, through understanding the views of various role-players about minibus taxi drivers and their role in supporting education.Aim: Viewing the minibus taxi industry through alternative lenses may lead to development which may ultimately lead to an improvement in the attitudes of the taxi industry towards the education sector and perceived negative behaviour of taxi drivers.Setting: The study took place at three schools in Gauteng, South Africa.Methods: The study followed an interpretive, qualitative research approach for exploring and understanding various views. A case study design using Lefebvre’s, ‘Production of Space’ theory and asset-based theory, were used as a theoretical framework in conjunction with the Johari Window model. Convenient sampling was applied. Focus group interviews, semi-structured questionnaires, fieldnotes, and observation were used for data collection and construction.Results: The results indicated that views which are embedded in individuals have many facets; hence, it is important to be aware of them to be able to identify the assets of minibus taxi drivers.Conclusion: Minibus taxi drivers are key role players, valuable facilitators and role models for learners, although educational development is needed.Contribution: Very little work has been done on the educational value of spaces such as taxis and transport vehicles; this research adds considerable value to this research lacuna.

The Minibus Taxi Industry’s Communication Strategies in Dealing with Linguistic Diversity on the Way to Business Leadership: The Case of South Africa

Informal businesses, such as the minibus taxi industry, positively contribute to the country’s economy whilst providing an essential public transport service to the linguistically diverse communities of multilingual South Africa. The systematisation of the scientific literature on the development of the minibus taxi industry proved the absence of comprehensive studies aimed at understanding the communication strategies that taxi operators use among themselves and when interacting with passengers. This paper aims to investigate the types of language strategies that take place in six taxi associations in which IsiZulu and English are the two dominant languages. This investigation is conducted against the multilingual context of the country and its attractiveness as an international and domestic tourist destination to determine how the business leadership in the taxi industry responds. The article’s theoretical framework draws from the transformative paradigm as it enables one to explore the experiences of marginalised communities. In this case, the marginalised communities are the taxi operators who stand to benefit from appropriate communication strategies. By taking the initiative and showing “agency”, they direct their efforts to solve existing problems in communication with passengers. The qualitative approach was adopted as a research methodology in which the researcher selected a structured interview approach. It involved interviews with twenty-four taxi operators and drivers who were purposefully selected in eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The participants gave an account of their experiences of bi-/multilingualism in the taxi industry during taxi association meetings, when interacting informally among themselves and in their communication with passengers. The results of the analysis of the responses of the respondents showed that the communication strategies used to mediate challenges posed by linguistic diversity are translation, interpretation, slang and language dominance. It is concluded that through their agency and by taking initiatives to deal with linguistic challenges in the eThekwini taxi industry, the economically marginalised are to be commended for being able to resolve impediments to their economic growth.

Improved communication as a catalyst for the minibus taxi industry’s changed negative image and increased profits in South Africa: Drivers’ views

The South African taxi industry has a negative image that is associated with violence and disrespect for its clients. This has led to it losing many of its clients to other industry players leading to more violence as taxi owners lose profits. The issue of communication as a possible solution to the challenges the taxi industry experiences, from the perspectives of the taxi drivers, has not been explored. Hence, this paper sought to gather the views of drivers on the role of improved communication to bringing about peace and good relations with passengers. A qualitative approach was adopted as a form of data collection in which 12 participants were interviewed in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in South Africa. The participants were selected among the taxi drivers who were asked to share their communication challenges and strategies. The findings revealed that poor communication skills and language can be a barrier to communication between drivers and passengers and between taxi associations. Effective communication strategies can contribute to economic freedom and peace. A further finding from the study is that taxi drivers, acting on their own agency, can tackle communication challenges in the eThekwini taxi industry and contribute to change.

Review of South Africa’s public transport system

This paper provides a review of public transport policy and strategy initiatives in South Africa for the period 1996 to 2021 and reviews the progress made in public transport provision against the policy guidelines and strategies of the 1996 White Paper on National Transport Policy, relevant strategies, and legislation.Formal public transport is increasingly losing market share against the informal minibus taxi industry. In the 2021 National Household Travel Survey minibus taxis accounted for 80.2% of work trips in 2020 compared to 67.2% in 2013 and 63% in 2003 while buses accounted for 16.6% (19.5% in 2013 and 22% in 2003) and train 3.2% (12.9% in 2013 and 15% in 2003) of work trips respectively.The research finds that a lack of policy implementation is at the center of the issues experienced in public transport in South Africa together with a lack of adequate transportation planning and financing. Most public transport users are not served by BRTs and the high-speed Gautrain services and have become largely dependent on the informal, lightly regulated, minibus taxi industry for their transportation needs. Users are dissatisfied with public transport services in the country. Policy objectives set out in government policy documents are, in general, not being achieved.

Innovative Approaches for Tackling Tax Evasion in the South African Minibus Taxi Industry: Lessons from Ghana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

In South Africa, minibus taxis are a crucial mode of public transport for many commuters and a vital informal business sector with an estimated value of R90 billion. Concerns have been raised that the South African Revenue Service (SARS) is not collecting the optimal amount of tax revenue from this industry, with estimated tax collection at only R5 million in 2021. As a result of concerns that this industry might be involved in tax evasion or massive tax avoidance, this study investigates the taxation of minibus taxis in South Africa and explores alternative tax regimes that could be implemented to improve revenue collection. The study compares the current South African turnover tax system for minibus taxi operators to other African tax systems and evaluates a viable alternative tax regime or tax collection system. To improve tax collection from the industry, South Africa could consider a tax system tailored to the industry’s informal nature, utilising metrics such as vehicle seating capacity or distance travelled. A standardised tax system for small, medium, and micro enterprises may not be suitable. Consultation with industry stakeholders is essential for the proposed tax system to be acceptable. The study’s findings could inform South Africa’s National Treasury in creating a tax structure or collection scheme targeting the minibus taxi industry. This could increase tax revenue collection from the industry and support government expenditure, including income and wealth redistribution. This study distinguishes itself from prior publications on the South African minibus taxi industry by addressing tax compliance and collection challenges. It offers recommendations for alternative tax regimes to mitigate these challenges.

The Minimum Effect of the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme on Precarious Working Conditions in South Africa’s Minibus Taxi Sector: An Industry Full of Pitfalls

ABSTRACT The minibus taxi is currently the most common mode of transport in South Africa, particularly for the low-income population living in townships. Minibus taxis are also seen as most people’s only option for mobility. With regards to the public transport system as a whole, the minibus taxi industry accounts for 68% of work journeys, followed by buses and trains. The sector remains, in a structural sense, in the informal economy, but is increasingly subject to overlapping mechanisms of formalisation and informalisation. In 1999, the government launched the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme (TRP) to formalise or restructure the minibus taxi industry. Part of this programme was to scrap unroadworthy or unlicensed vehicles. However, these annual scrapping targets have not been met. In my research, I have carried out a total of 58 interviews on employment conditions in the industry using qualitative research methods. Many taxi drivers and taxi marshals are placed in precarious conditions on a daily basis. These conditions contradict those set out in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, including the Sectoral Determination of compensation. While the government announced the TRP to formalise the industry, there continue to be difficulties and entanglements with formalising the industry that have adversely affected the impact of the programme. I argue that such pitfalls delay the transformation of the industry.

Driving Sustainability of Minibus Taxi Industry in South Africa

Background: The minibus taxi is the leading commuter transport mode in South Africa, with a market share of about 70%. Despite the industry’s positive socio-economic contributions to the country, the management is handicapped by the industry’s informal nature among other issues. This study explored the sustainability initiatives for minibus taxi industry in South Africa, as the country and the rest of the world pursued the net zero emissions target by 2050. Method: The study was grounded in the theories of sustainable development and change management, pursued qualitative research methodology and constructivism research paradigm. Non-probability sampling process was used in selecting the participants from the minibus taxi industry in North West province, South Africa. The participants were interviewed and the interviews recorded, transcribed, coded and analysed for results through content analysis. Results: The outcome overwhelmingly preferred formalisation of the industry, which would improve management, commuter safety and reduction of carbon emissions, which would enhance competitiveness and sustainability. Conclusion: The formalisation of the minibus taxi industry would streamline its management and facilitate faster taxi electrification, when adoption of electrical vehicles commences in the country, drastically reducing carbon emissions.

The Need for Speed: The Impact of Capital Constraints on Strategic Misconduct

Under what conditions do firms engage in strategic misconduct? Why do they undertake actions that increase profitability yet break laws or violate strong norms often with costly consequences for public welfare? The strategic management literature offers two external constraints that might explain these actions. First, firms in highly competitive environments with few options for differentiation turn to strategic misconduct for survival. Second, firms that operate in weak regulatory environments adopt strategic misconduct to overcome market frictions that lack of regulation creates. This paper offers a third explanation – access to affordable financing. Existing research on capital constraints has demonstrated firms benefit greatly from additional capital but has yet to investigate its impact on strategic misconduct. I examine the impact of capital constraints on strategic misconduct in the minibus taxi industry in South Africa. Exploiting a natural experiment in which a financing company changed their interest rates due to nation wide protests, I assess the impact of declining interest rates on over 5000 firms from 2015 to 2020. Using an instrumental variable analysis, I find that firms given lower interest rates decrease strategic misconduct, measured by speeding alerts and aggressiveness with other firms, and are more likely to survive. Exploring potential mechanisms through survey and qualitative analysis, I find suggestive evidence that binding capital constraints and high penalties for default might drive these results. My findings suggest that the reduction of capital constraints for firms under duress might increase both firm survival and public safety presenting implications for how we might approach building sustainable and resilient firms and communities.

Feuding Families in the South African Mini-bus Taxi Industry

Feuding Families in the South African Mini-bus Taxi Industry

Covid-19 and Precarity in South Africa’s Minibus Taxi Industry

This article considers covid-19 and precarity in South Africa’s minibus taxi industry. Covid-19 and the resulting national lockdown interrupted the operations of the industry (like other businesses) in South Africa. During the lockdown (from level 5 to level 1), some taxi operators complained that the lockdown resulted in them losing profit. Taxi drivers also complained that they are making less money through taxi fares (noting that each day they give collected fares to taxi owners and keep some of the money for petrol). The labour inspectors of the Department of Employment and Labour (DOEL) continue to find it difficult to exercise their role of inspecting working conditions in the industry. Despite the fact that the DOEL issued a Sectoral Determination for the taxi industry (Basic Condition of Employment Act 95 of 1997, Sectoral Determination 11: Taxi Sector 2005), which specifies basic employment conditions, the industry is still predominantly informal and employees have no job protection. Taxi drivers remain exempt from job-related benefits such as the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), which makes it impossible for them to benefit during difficult times such as Covid-19 and unemployment. Therefore, the virus and the lockdown revealed further the precariousness of taxi drivers and the concerns around making profit by taxi owners.

Taxi violence in South Africa : insight from Mpumalanga Township, Kwazulu-Natal Province, South Africa

Despite the demise of apartheid, taxi violence still remains a major challenge in the South African minibus-taxi industry. South Africa is no stranger to bloody clashes between rival taxi organizations who fight to gain dominance over lucrative routes. This qualitative study examines the transition of taxi violence in a new democratic South Africa and draws upon semi-structured interviews conducted with taxi drivers in Mpumalanga Township, which is a low-urban community settlement in the eThekwini Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province. The findings suggest that taxi violence still remains a fundamental challenge in South Africa, and its perpetrators are predominantly taxi owners contesting ownership of lucrative routes to secure a more robust daily income. This study posits that a holistic approach must be taken and the entire industry restructured.

A stochastic prediction of minibus taxi driver behaviour in South Africa

For many emerging and developing countries, urbanization and demographic changes require a remodelling of transportation systems and networks. Paratransit, with its demand responsive characteristics of being fully flexible, often represents the backbone of the transport sector while being an informal and, therefore, fairly unorganised system with little knowledge about working routines of its workers. As an example, this paper analyses the minibus taxi industry in South Africa based on data from Rustenburg, a mid-sized city, to gain valuable insights into the working behaviour of minibus taxi drivers by taking an evidence-based and data-based approach. Therefore, the principle of reference-dependent preferences is applied to the data to investigate the labour supply choice of taxi drivers, since sheer profit maximization has proven inadequate for the analysis here. Results indicate, that working hours for South African minibus taxi drivers are likely to be in the 10–12 h bracket with a revenue-dependent additional hour accounting for the revenue performance of that day. As a main finding however, South African minibus taxi drivers cannot clearly be attributed to either reference dependence or profit-maximization behaviour.

Regulated Set against Unregulated Minibus Taxi Industry in Johannesburg, South Africa—A Contested Terrain: Precariousness in the Making

The minibus taxi industry moved from being heavily regulated before 1987 during the apartheid to the period of deregulation in 1987—which led to an increasing number of taxi operators—to the introduction of the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme (TRP) in 1999 with the purpose of transforming the industry. The TRP was—and continues to be—an attempt to respond to the problems and failures of the regulation process. Regulation of the minibus taxi industry is important to ensure that the industry operates according to the laws of South Africa. However, while this is so, there is an increasing number of illegal operators within the industry. This paper is situated in the broader context of my PhD thesis which investigated the impact of the TRP on precarious working conditions within the minibus taxi industry in Johannesburg. Using qualitative research methods, I conducted a total of fifty-eight interviews for my thesis. Results portrayed that most of the minibus taxi operators in the industry continue operating illegally, and thus making it difficult for the state to regulate. Regulation in the industry is sociologically-defined by two categories: social regulations and economic regulations. The industry remains unregulated and situated within the informal sector.

Humanistic management philosophy in governance in the taxi industry in South Africa

Ponte Academic JournalMay 2017, Volume 73, Issue 5 Humanistic management philosophy in governance in the taxi industry in South AfricaAuthor(s): Vimolan Mudaly ,Kudakwashe ZvitamboJ. Ponte - May 2017 - Volume 73 - Issue 5 doi: 10.21506/j.ponte.2017.5.36 Abstract:Small and medium enterprises sustainability and governance recently become a topical issue. Governance applicable to companies (corporate governance) had been questionable due to a plethora of scandals, ethics issues and corruption happening in companies. Therefore, applicability of corporate governance to small and medium enterprises like the minibus taxi industry has been questioned. These challenges caused the study to explore humanistic management philosophy in governance with specific reference to the Port Shepstone minibus taxi industry in KwaZulu -Natal, South Africa. Humanistic management philosophy was put forward as an alternative to economicism philosophy in governance. The study wanted to establish the extent to which humanistic management strategy, humanistic management leadership, humanistic management ethics and humanistic management culture affect governance of small and medium enterprises like the minibus taxi industry. These objectives were viewed using Ubuntu philosophy as a theoretical framework. The study adopted a concurrent triangulation mixed method approach advocated by post-positivists. A mixed method approach taps into the advantages of both qualitative and quantitative approaches to gather rich data which explained the phenomenon. The case study designed used enabled the study to do an in-depth analysis of the phenomenon on one industry (minibus taxis industry). The research methods used were questionnaires, observation and interviews to gather data. The data was gathered from minibus taxi operators. The integration of results from research methods generated a generalisation. The results revealed that humanistic management philosophy in governance of the minibus taxi industry was a challenge. The taxi operators, as owners of the business, were not implementing humanistic management leadership principles, humanistic management strategies, humanistic management ethics and humanistic management culture in governance. This affected their sustainability due to conflict with stakeholders. This contradicted the expectation of stakeholders who believe in African philosophy (Ubuntu). The governance of the small and medium enterprises like the minibus taxi industry was based on economicism philosophy instead of humanistic management philosophy. Therefore, the study recommended a humanistic management philosophy in governance model to guide small and medium enterprises in their business governance. Download full text:Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution Username Password

Communication within the Mini-Bus Taxi Industry of South Africa: A Case Study of Lenyenye (Limpopo Province) and Tembisa (Gauteng Province) Locations

Traversing the townships of South Africa invariably lands one into the realm of minibus taxis; both in their splendour and irritation. A ride in a minibus taxi unravels a fascinating reality. The p...

Becoming a "big man" in neo-liberal South Africa: Migrant masculinities in the minibus-taxi industry

The last two decades of economic decline in Africa have drawn attention to the crisis of masculinities, to “failed men” unable to build kinship networks and to “violent men” who damage social networks whilst competing for scarce resources. This article argues that a fragmented, neo-liberal society also produces new patterns of patriarchal aggrandisement. Focusing on Johannesburg's minibus-taxi industry, it shows how large informal sector activities are structured through kinship networks that in turn give rise to modes of masculinity seeking to control these networks. Johannesburg's minibus-taxi business is dominated by retrenched labour migrants, who moved into the transportation sector in the 1980s and 1990s at a time of industrial decline. It thus offers a case study of the changing patterns of accumulation and household formation in a social landscape where kinship ties continue to constitute the key relationships of obligation and support. Drawing on three-dozen core interviews with Zulu-speaking taxi owners and transporters, this article demonstrates that the taxi owner and the taxi boss are men to be emulated, but that the relationships between “big men” and “failed” or “violent” men are uncomfortably close.

Overview of public transport policy developments in South Africa

Public transport in South Africa is one of the most burning issues in the transport sector. The government is faced with huge public pressure to improve public transport systems in the face of rising fuel costs, the pending implementation of expensive urban toll road systems in the Gauteng province, and elsewhere in urban environments, public transport safety issues, public transport fleet renewal, especially the commuter rail services, as well as limited resources to fund public transport. As a developing country, the South African Government has pressing funding issues such as funds needed to improve housing for the poor to improve schooling and public health services. Government is also faced with a vocal minibus taxi industry that transports an estimated 65% of all commuters in the country that is also insisting on subsidies for its services.Many policies and strategies have been put in place to address the public transport system in the country, some more successful than others. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the latest policy and strategy developments, to highlight the latest modal developments and to build on previous overviews in the Thredbo Conference series.

The lurch towards formalisation: Lessons from the implementation of BRT in Johannesburg, South Africa

The City of Johannesburg, South Africa, implemented the first phase of its Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system named Rea Vaya between 2009 and 2011. The system design and organisational arrangements drew heavily on precedents from South America, especially insofar as BRT is used as an instrument for securing the transformation and formalisation of a fragmented and problematic informal public transport industry. Despite the inevitable transition problems, the formalisation scheme appears to be generally successful – an outcome that surprised many analysts as it follows a long history of mistrust, resistance, and unsuccessful interventions between government and the minibus taxi industry. The paper offers an analysis of the reasons for the successful transformation of participating taxi operators, by using a life-cycle analogy. We argue that the minibus-taxi industry in South Africa has reached a state of stasis and maturity, with limited opportunities for further growth in its present form. BRT, as it is implemented locally, offers opportunities for re-invention – for moving onto new a potential growth trajectory – by overcoming the binding constraints of informality and by opening up new markets to operators. The life-cycle analysis also offers some insights into critical success factors that, if not met in the long run, could jeopardise the longevity and scalability of the formalisation project. The paper concludes with insights regarding the planning and management of BRT systems to maximise their potential for leveraging the formalisation of informal operators, both in South Africa and in other developing countries.