THE TAXI INDUSTRY
7.2 THE CONTEXT OF THE TAXI INDUSTRY
The hard fact about the taxi industry in South Africa is startling. If one considers the following facts, it will be clear and easy to understand why the taxi industry is a major policy concern for municipalities in this country. According to the
Department of Transport in KwaZulu -Natal, in 1994 the state of the taxi industry can be characterised in the following ways:
• The taxi industry transported about 335 million people every month in South Africa. This was about 70% of the South Africa's commuters.
• In the province of KwaZulu-Natal, the industry spent R2 million on petrol daily, R5, 4 million on services every three months and R41 million on tyres annually. (KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport, 1994)
Clearly, from the above statistics we can see that this industry sustains the formal sector, generates and contributes significantly to the country's economic activity and finally to the GDP, yet it is never cited as one of the major
contributors to the economy. Clearly this is reflected in statistics on the motor and petrochemical industries.
The taxi in the South African context is different from taxis in other parts of the world. In other parts of the world taxi is the opposite of public transport. In this country taxis are mini-buses that have become the dominant mode of transport.
In South Africa 70% of commuters depend on taxis as a mode of transport for short and long distance travel. "In unit terms there are approximately 126 000, 10 and 13 seater petrol powered taxis and 80 000, 18 and 35 seater diesel powered taxis operating country wide." (van Ransburg, "Taxi Recapitalisation Strategy", 1997) Despite all these facts, municipalities and government generally have not done enough in creating an enabling environment for these taxis to operate and to care for the passengers.
The taxi industry in South Africa is the only industry that has the potential of being a profitable business that is controlled almost completely by black people.
Black in this context refers to Africans in particular, Indians and Coloureds in general. In his submission to the Commission of Enquiry into Taxi Violence, the Minister of Transport, Mr. Sbu Ndebele, stated this fact in no uncertain terms:
"there is no question that the government regards the minibus taxi industry as a key role player in the entry of Africans into mainstream economy ... The taxi industry is a flagship for black economic empowerment. The government is not
the enemy of the minibus taxi industry, in the same way as a midwife is not an enemy of a pregnant mother or an unborn child." (12 September 2000)
Yet, this industry has been the subject of controversy. It is riddled by violence, which does not only lead to the killing of taxi drivers and owners, but innocent commuters who get killed during cross fire. The planning, strategy and process of formulating policies to regulate this sector will have to take into account these factors. Clearly, since this taxi industry is so volatile, there is a need to involve security forces in the process. It is in the interest of a municipality to avoid bloodshed as much as they could since they are the closest sphere of
government and these kind of violent conditions are immediately felt at this level of governance.
The other problem associated with this industry is the high increase in road
accidents involving taxis. This has been blamed not only on the speeding drivers who exceed the speed limit but also on the working conditions of taxi drivers who are expected by the owners to meet certain profit margins. The relevance of this point to this policy argument is the need to involve all stakeholders. In this case municipalities will have to collaborate with a provincial transport department to strengthen their capacity during policy formulation as well as during policy implementation.
This all happens in the context of vehicle prices soaring to unaffordable levels leading to the average life of a taxi peaking at least 10 years. Worse still the
financial sector has also made it almost impossible for this industry to function properly, as the access to finance to renew the fleet is almost an impossibility.
All these factors have contributed one way or the other to the volatile situation in the taxi industry. It can be argued that since the taxi industry is not subsidized by the government it is responsible for carrying 70% of the commuters. This results in tensions between the taxi industry and other modes of transport that are subsidized by the government. It is also true that taxi industry itself is
competing over lucrative routes. Most of the taxi wars have occurred in long and medium distance routes, which are very profitable. Municipalities can no longer afford to be observers. Rather they have to play a leading role in stabilising the situation.
The national state has taken serious steps to regulate and recognise this sector.
What follows is a typical three dimensional approach to policy making as
suggested by Lukes (1974), which the national government has sought to apply in dealing with the taxi industry.