For those of us that are not privileged enough to commute in taxi's, moment of silence...
SKIP TO THE TL:DR IF YOU ALREADY TAKE A TAXI OR TO GET TO THE POINT.
I will be your tour guide for the day. Let us begin with a question: What is the most South African thing?
Braaing right? Yes, but other countries just call it barbecuing so that brings us to taxi's(otherwise known
as mini buses or vans - in the USA).
Taxi's are integral to our economy and naturally a culture manifested from them. People have their different
reservations and financial reasons for taking a taxi or not. Let's explore my reasons for taking taxi's.
Obviously the first reason is financial. The second reason is simple: I enjoy it. Why would I enjoy taking a
taxi, you ask? Well, it only makes sense to me. Perhaps it dates back to taking a taxi, with my 6-year old sister,
to and from school. Or perhaps it is because of the thrill of two conductors pulling one person, each to their own
taxi, the smart ones simply grabbing the groceries from a mother and taking them to their taxi with the surety that
the tired mother will follow him and not a competitor conductor.
(Before you go to google what a conductor is and think it's beads on a circuit board, let me
pull you back on track. A conductor is the guy who is responsible for finding people along the way, he lets people
know where the taxi is headed, collects taxi fare and operates the door. If you are from Port Elizabeth it's those guys screaming out 'TOWN'! All good? Great, let's not stand on ceremony).
Could it be the blasting music of the South Beach-Market taxi's, with custom-fitted sound systems, in then West and
Smith streets in Durban? The conversations the two grown women are having about their neighbour that practises
some 'Limpopo Science', the friend who's marriage is falling apart, the church member that is a saint in the streets
and being a...well you get it, the woman's snot-nosed toddler next to you that wants a lick of your ice cream, the
lady merrily pigging out on her Hungry Lion takeaway, or even the drunk uncle telling people their truths from the
backseat? Perhaps even the occasional butting of heads...
VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Taxi's are to-the-brim with experiences, across all provinces and their respective languages. Nobody said all these
were great experiences(P.S please stop waiting to be in the taxi to eat your take away) but they are experiences
that have culminated into a culture nonetheless.
Where things take an interesting turn is when you take a taxi without no conductor...
There is no translation needed here, my mans is mad mad. What is happening here? The taxi does not have a
conductor.
THE MATHS SEAT
This man is seated at what I term 'The Maths Seat'. Whoever sits in the passenger seat next to the driver becomes
responsible for collecting, counting, and changing the taxi fare. Passengers are impatient and only the conductor
has the emotional capacity to tend to them. This man, being a passenger himself, has just about had it! The Maths
Seat is not for the feint-hearted.
TL:DR
In the black community personal space is nearly non-existent. We are a communal people, always in each others personal space and affairs, and that includes noise. That is why taxi's are not a problem. You may have to stand or have someone sit on your lap, if necessity deems it so.
Besides, taking a taxi affords you certain privileges. There's no such thing as a traffic jam when you are in a taxi. Taxi's are not bound by STOP&GO lines nor pavements being reserved for pedestrians. A taxi always has right of way, trust me. Taxi drivers look out for one another and have a code and honour they operate by.
My love for taking taxi's comes from a nostalgia of taking taxi's in Durban and experiencing black people who I, otherwise, would not have had an interaction with. Growing up in a Suburb with no black neighbours meant taxi's was where I got to connect with uniquely black tropes, mannerisms, nuances, Kasi Taal, music, etc. That is why I have disregarded the discomfort and what other people find to be annoyances.
I hope, just once you will take a taxi and experience all this for yourself. What is the worst thing that could happen?
Now that you have an idea about who I am and my writing style, let's get to talking about design and school from the next post. Adieu
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