Why South Africa Commuters Remain So Reliant on Taxis
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Commuters wait in a taxi bus to depart from a rank in the Katlehong, a township 28 kilometers southeast of the center of Johannesburg.
After vandalism and theft effectively shut down Johannesburg’s passenger rail service during the Covid-19 pandemic, commuters say their daily trips have become more expensive and more dangerous. Most now rely on private mini-bus taxis, which are largely unregulated and characterized by cut-throat competition. Turf wars between rival taxi organizations have killed both drivers and passengers.
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has slowly been restoring services — and the city runs a limited bus network — but efforts remain inadequate for a city of 5 million people. The challenge partly stems from apartheid-era urban planning, which favored sprawl and scattered Black townships far from city centers, Zinhle Xaba reports. Today on CityLab: Commuters Are Caught in Johannesburg's Taxi Feuds as Transit Lags