The Taxi System

I wrote a short travel article recently for the Guardian, a paper in the UK. It was about Johannesburg's minibus taxis and how foreigners can use this intense and confusing system. The article was pretty short, so I thought I'd expand on it a bit with some pictures.

This one of the main taxi ranks in the Johannesburg CDB. It's where many of the taxis come to pick people up and take them off to various parts of the city. Hundreds stream in and out of here, and it's a pretty wild scene.



It can be a bit confusing to find out where you need to line up to get to your desired destination, as there are three other main taxi ranks, and many smaller ones throughout the CBD. Asking 5 people will get you 4 different answers, so I tend to try to find as many sources of info as I can before heading off to one of these ranks.

I had considered doing an audio slideshow as part of this article, but in the end it didn't happen. I did, however, record a bunch of sounds from within the taxis, within the ranks and in conversation with a few drivers. This is Walter, one of the drivers I talked to, and he was especially excited to talk to a journalist.

This is another rank, with actual signage telling people where they need to line up. I've never taken a taxi from here, but even if I did, I wouldn't trust those signs.

If you ever come out here, definitely take a ride on the minibus taxis. They are intense and a totally unique part of Johannesburg.