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

2014 ◽  
Vol 113 (452) ◽  
pp. 431-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Gibbs
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Taxi Industry

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

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. p1
Author(s):  
Dr. Siyabulela C. Fobosi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Unemployment Insurance ◽  
Insurance Fund ◽  
Taxi Drivers ◽  
Employment Conditions ◽  
Level 1 ◽  
Taxi Industry ◽  
Difficult Times

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.

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

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. p303
Author(s):  
Siyabulela C. Fobosi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Informal Sector ◽  
Contested Terrain ◽  
Taxi Industry ◽  
Phd Thesis ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Economic Regulations

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.

Pricing Within the Sharing Economy

2020 ◽  
pp. 18-32
Author(s):  
Unathi Sonwabile Henama ◽  
Pfarelo Manavhela
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Transport System ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Disruptive Technology ◽  
Night Time ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Public Transport System ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
African Context ◽  
Taxi Industry

South Africa has a poor public transport system, which is dominated by the minibus taxis that transport more than 60% of the population, characterised by abysmal service and bad driving. The emergence of Uber in South Africa has created a new transport avenue for South Africans. Uber became a hit amongst locals and tourists, overtaking the metered taxis as direct competition. The night time economy has been one of the major beneficiaries, as Uber provided a 24 hour transport system. The entry of Uber has been associated with disruptive technology, which has disrupted the metered taxi industry specifically and the transport industry generally. The emergence of Uber has brought about a new pricing strategy called surge pricing, which has not been captured by the academic gaze in a Southern African context. The chapter seeks to add to the body of knowledge on Uber and surge pricing.

scholarly journals Analysing the impact of taxi violence on commuters in South Africa

2022 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 899-911
Author(s):  
Modipa Mmakwena
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Awareness Campaigns ◽  
The People ◽  
Taxi Industry ◽  
Apartheid Regime ◽  
Key Steps ◽  
The Impact

Taxi violence in South Africa was the tool that the apartheid regime used to pursue their interest by dividing the people so that they could acquire what they needed (Sekhonyane and Dugard, 2004:15). Taxi violence is one of the most burning issues faced by Department of Transport, Police, commuters and taxi industry in South Africa. This industry plays a vital role in commuting people to and from work or different destinations, and in most cases it is caught in the wrong doing in terms of fighting for routes where many innocent lives are lost due to infighting. The inability by government to regulate taxi industry is a serious problem for taxi operators, taxi associations, commuters and society. The deregulation of taxi industry brought many problems such as conflict, violence and mafia type assassinations in South Africa.  This article focus on preventive measures to curb taxi violence in South Africa. This article utilised qualitative, case study based approach and the approach is supported by analysis of primary and secondary sources. The article further draws on the findings from the world on taxi violence and formulate steps to counteract taxi violence in South Africa. The research based key steps leading to the prevention of taxi violence in South Africa. The first process related to regulation of taxi industry, awareness campaigns on taxi operations, the control of routes and multidisciplinary investigation team should be established to overcome taxi violence in South Africa.

scholarly journals A PROVINCIAL CONCERN? Political killings in South Africa

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Bruce
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Public Concern ◽  
Criminal Networks ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Taxi Industry ◽  
Political Killings

Politically motivated killings have occupied a relatively marginal position as an issue of public concern in South Africa since 1994. This may reflect the provincial nature of the problem, since such killings have mainly occurred in KwaZulu-Natal, with a much smaller number occurring in Mpumalanga and even fewer recorded elsewhere. Based on a scan of documentary information, this article estimates that there have been approximately 450 political killings in KwaZulu-Natal since 1994, with most having taken place in the mid and late 1990s and just under 25% (107) since 2003. The root of the problem in KwaZulu-Natal may be the militarisation of the province during the apartheid period. Some political killings in the province continue to be linked to inter-party conflict that has roots in that time. However, political killings since the end of apartheid are mostly linked to local political rivalries and connections to criminal networks, notably in the taxi industry. Though the problem is concentrated in specific provinces it is likely to impact on political life in South Africa more broadly.

Time and Latitude in South Africa

1972 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 27-38
Author(s):  
J. Hers
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Astronomical Observations ◽  
Royal Observatory ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Astronomical Determination ◽  
Limited Accuracy ◽  
Better Than

In South Africa the modern outlook towards time may be said to have started in 1948. Both the two major observatories, The Royal Observatory in Cape Town and the Union Observatory (now known as the Republic Observatory) in Johannesburg had, of course, been involved in the astronomical determination of time almost from their inception, and the Johannesburg Observatory has been responsible for the official time of South Africa since 1908. However the pendulum clocks then in use could not be relied on to provide an accuracy better than about 1/10 second, which was of the same order as that of the astronomical observations. It is doubtful if much use was made of even this limited accuracy outside the two observatories, and although there may – occasionally have been a demand for more accurate time, it was certainly not voiced.

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