Cruising in a Moja Cruise
COULD subsidising the infamous taxi industry change how our minibus taxis operate?
This was the question at the back of my mind when I hopped into one of the Moja Cruise taxis this week – the new branded taxis in the city centre.
They are part of the city’s integrated transport system, Go Durban, which aims to improve public transport safety and cleanliness. The programme was launched last month by mayor Zandile Gumede.
But it is still in the trial stage, and the city aims to subsidise about 6000 taxis if the programme yields good results. Taxis that are part of the programme are expected to be safe, clean and obey the rules of the road.
So I hopped into one of them, to witness if they were doing what they promised. Most of the Moja Cruise taxis still look new and clean. I noticed this while I waited at the taxi rank.
I took a ride from Field Street taxi rank to Newlands. I chose to sit in the front seat to monitor the driver who identified himself as Kwazi Mchunu.
He jumped in, put on his safety belt and asked me to do so as well, and the taxi took off. “How is the business doing my brother?” I asked Mchunu, with the intention of finding out more about Moja Cruise taxis.
“Everything is cool my brother there is no rush,” he responded.
Although it was midday, I noticed that Mchunu kept his speed between 60 and 80km/h. His Toyota Quantum was spotless and still had the smell of a new car.
Taxi drivers are known for reckless driving but Mchunu proved otherwise. I asked him what had changed about his job.
“We have been trained and all our traffic fines were cleared before we joined this programme. This car has a tracker to monitor the speed and if I travel too fast I get a warning call from the boss. The attitude has changed, we now not chasing one another to rake in the cash because our bosses are on board. Only taxis that were bought in 2016 onwards are allowed on this programme,” he said.
I realised we can transform the minibus taxi industry which transports millions of commuters daily across the country.
I left the Moja Cruise taxi thinking the city could monitor this programme and get more taxi owners on board. This could be the turning point in the industry.