My thinking about minibus taxis has evolved over the years.
An economy on their own, I understand that they play a valuable role in our communities.
Out of necessity, they have pretty much taken over from buses and trains as the transport of the masses.
I also understand a little better that taxi passengers are often the ones working long hours for very little money.
They live far from work and often bear the brunt of frustrated bosses who demand that they get to work on time; the same bosses who complain bitterly from their luxury cars, about how terrible taxis are on the roads.
Then they still have to squash back into that taxi and hope it gets them home in time to see to their families’ needs.
These are realities we don’t always consider when we shake an angry fist at a taxi cutting us off on the freeway.
So, yes, I understand. But so do the taxi bosses, and this has given them a lot of power. This in turn is what emboldened them to block off the city centre last week.
But I also have to get to work on time, and I have to do so within the confines of the law.
If I’m going to speed and drive recklessly most mornings, then I can expect to collect fines and warrants-of-arrest.
I can’t then play the victim at “being targeted” by Law Enforcement, when I’m the one at fault.
Keeping our roads safe and penalising you for deliberately driving badly, is literally their job.
Whereas your job is to drive responsibly, respect other road users and get your passengers to their destinations safely; and not to endanger the lives of everyone you pass on the way.
So while I understand that taxi drivers have weekly targets to make and compete against hundreds of other drivers for the same low-paid passengers, they can’t be a law unto themselves.
I have previously encouraged passengers to collectively check reckless taxi drivers.
I know it’s a scary thing to do, because some of them can be rude and intimidating, but ultimately, it’s your life that they are playing with.
If everyone threatens to not use that taxi again, you will see results.