Civil Engineering September 2022 | Vol 30 No 8

people left after the taxi is full who don’t want to be left behind. They forcefully overload the taxi in order to depart as early as possible. When the driver tells them to go to the next taxi so that the vehicle is not overloaded, they just look at him and don’t respond. When the other passengers inside the vehicle appeal to them to board another taxi, they respond by saying, “will you take me to work?” or, “will you go and work for my kids?”. According to Thabo, the drivers allow overloading because passengers don’t listen, and the drivers don’t want to waste time arguing. Although the upside of this is that the driver will get more money per ride, the downside is that they must always proactively check for road traffic police and use alternative routes when there is a perceived problem. This inevitably creates delays for passengers and results in higher than necessary fuel consumption. Thabo departed with his passenger load at approximately 05:15 and soon spotted road traffic officers, necessitating a change in route. At a traffic light in Mamelodi I spotted two taxis driving on the road shoulder to gain quick access through the traffic light. Thabo explained that there are two reasons for this: 1) they are under pressure to collect more people along the way as quickly as possible before other drivers spot them, and 2) they want to be the first to get to the rank so that they secure an early spot in the queue. I asked Thabo what he thought should be done to resolve this kind of driving behaviour by other drivers and he said he doesn’t know. I suggested having a person to reprimand them, but he didn’t think it was a good idea because drivers don’t listen and usually respond in a disrespectful way. He further explained that they will say “my bra, your taxi is full and I don’t have anything”. They would sometimes even ask a driver who is calling them to order to give them money for cashing in at the end of the day. Thabo arrived at his destination (Constantia Park) around 06:50. At 06:56, he was registering his taxi at Menlyn Taxi Rank to book a spot for later in the afternoon peak. On his way back he bought a R5 newspaper from a vendor at a traffic light on the corner of Lynwood Road and January Masilela Drive. He is a regular customer and buys this newspaper every day to read while he is waiting at the taxi rank. Thabo’s second load at was at Nellmapius Taxi Rank at 07:05. No particular loading sequence was followed, which is generally what happens if there are very few or no taxis at the rank. After the vehicle was full another passenger insisted on getting in and sitting next to Civil Engineering September 2022 29