Blood on the tar: The challenge of ending collective violence in SA's minibus taxi industry

Daily Maverick

24-04-2025

In the centre of South Africa's urban transport system, the minibus taxi industry stands as both a lifeline and a battleground. Every day, millions of commuters rely on these vehicles to navigate cities where formal public transport is often unreliable or absent.
Yet, beneath the hum of engines and the chatter of passengers lies a darker reality — one marked by violence, territorial disputes, and a cycle of retribution that seems unbreakable.
The minibus taxi industry, a R50-billion-a-year sector, is a microcosm of South Africa's broader struggles with collective violence, where the lines between economic survival, criminality, and state failure blur into what philosophers might term an aporia — an irresolvable contradiction.
This piece examines the structural, economic, and sociopolitical dimensions of violence in South Africa's minibus taxi industry. It explores how historical neglect, weak state regulation, and fierce competition for routes have entrenched a system where bloodshed is normalised. The discussion also considers potential solutions, questioning whether formalisation, state intervention, or grassroots mediation can break the cycle of violence.
The minibus taxi industry emerged in the 1970s and 1980s as an informal response to apartheid-era neglect. Under apartheid, black South Africans were systematically excluded from reliable public transport. Trains and buses were either unavailable or racially segregated, leaving millions with no viable means of commuting to work.
The minibus taxi filled this void, operating as a grassroots solution to state-imposed exclusion. Initially, the industry was fragmented, with individual operators servicing local routes. However, as demand grew, taxi associations formed to regulate operations, allocate routes, and negotiate with authorities.
These associations became powerful entities, wielding significant influence over urban mobility. Yet, their rise was accompanied by increasing violence as rival groups competed for dominance over lucrative routes.
Post apartheid, the government attempted to integrate the taxi industry into the formal transport economy. The 1996 Taxi Recapitalisation Programme aimed to replace old, unsafe vehicles, reduce violence, and introduce regulation. However, corruption, mismanagement, and resistance from taxi bosses rendered the programme ineffective.
Decades later, the industry remains largely informal, volatile, and resistant to state control.
Violence in the taxi industry is not arbitrary — it is a calculated strategy for economic survival. At the heart of the conflict is route dominance, where control over high-demand routes translates into substantial profits. Taxi associations operate as quasi-governments, enforcing their authority through intimidation, arson, and assassination.
The most profitable routes — typically those connecting townships to city centres — are fiercely contested. Associations employ 'queue marshals' to control taxi ranks, often using force to exclude competitors. Disputes over territory frequently escalate into taxi wars, with rival factions engaging in shootouts, vehicle burnings, and targeted killings.
The South African government has struggled to impose order on the industry. Police interventions are often ineffective, either due to under-resourcing, corruption, or fear of retaliation. In some cases, law enforcement officers have been accused of colluding with taxi bosses, further undermining public trust.
Vigilante enforcement
With little faith in formal justice, operators resort to private security firms and vigilante enforcement. Some associations hire armed guards to protect their members, while others engage in retaliatory attacks. This privatisation of security entrenches a cycle of violence, where disputes are settled with bullets rather than legal processes.
For taxi drivers, violence is an occupational hazard. Many work under constant threat – extortion, assault, or assassination if they defy association rules. Those who attempt to operate independently risk being ostracised or killed. Commuters, too, are caught in the crossfire. Innocent bystanders have been killed in shootouts between rival groups.
For years, the Witwatersrand African Taxi Association (Wata) and the Nancefield Dube West Taxi Association (Nanduwe) have been at odds over routes. Just this year, a staggering 59 deaths have been linked to taxi-related violence.
The minibus taxi industry embodies an aporia — an irresolvable contradiction. On one hand, it is an indispensable service, providing mobility to millions in a country where formal transport fails. On the other, it is a source of terror, where violence is institutionalised.
Government attempts to regulate the industry have repeatedly failed. The Taxi Recapitalisation Programme's inability to curb violence highlights the difficulty of imposing order on a sector that thrives on informality. Taxi associations resist formalisation, fearing loss of autonomy and profits.
At its core, the violence is sustained by economic desperation. South Africa's high unemployment rate (over 32%) means that taxi driving is one of the few viable livelihoods for many. With so much at stake, operators are willing to kill — or be killed — to protect their income.
Breaking the cycle of violence
Breaking the cycle of violence requires more than policing. Possible interventions include economic restructuring — integrating taxi operators into formal transport networks, offering equity in exchange for compliance — stricter firearm control to limit access to illegal guns used in taxi wars, labour protections such as unionising drivers to reduce exploitation by association bosses, and mediation initiatives through grassroots conflict resolution programmes to de-escalate disputes before they turn violent.
However, these solutions face immense challenges. Corruption, political inertia, and the sheer profitability of the industry make reform difficult.
The minibus taxi industry is more than just a transport sector — it is a reflection of South Africa's broader crises. The violence on our roads mirrors the country's struggles with inequality, state weakness, and the legacy of apartheid.
Until systemic issues — poverty, unemployment, and ineffective governance — are addressed, the wheels will keep turning, leaving blood on the tar as a grim testament to an unresolved contradiction.
The aporia remains: the industry is both essential and deadly, a paradox that South Africa has yet to solve. Whether through state intervention, economic reform, or grassroots activism, the path to peace must confront the deep-seated forces that make violence not just a symptom, but a necessity, in the struggle for survival. DM