No more conductors for Umlazi taxis
Former conductor, Sbusiso Gumede, said, "I don’t know where I will get a job now because this is all I know. I started doing this after my parents died in 2010 and I dropped out from school in grade nine. I’m not sure what I’m going to do."
Helpers of taxi drivers commonly referred to as ‘conductors’ were left jobless after a decision to terminate their services as from August 7, 2017, was made.
A rank manager at the Mega City taxi rank in Umlazi, under the Umlazi United Taxi Association, who wanted to remain anonymous said, “The owners made this decision on their own without consulting anyone, but I also don’t see anything wrong with their decision. I personally think the drivers can manage on their own. Other associations have also implemented this and have had no problem with this.”
Even though the association believes it was a good decision, some drivers are having a hard time having to cope on their own.
A taxi driver who went by the name, Skhumbuzo, said, “We as the drivers had no say in this, we just saw notices put up at the rank that on Monday all drivers must not come with their helpers. I feel like we still need them because they made our jobs easier, by counting the taxi fare and opening and closing the door, which most passengers struggle with. This creates glitches in our work.”
ALSO READ: Taxi association speaks out on scholar transportation
This has hit harder for conductors who have been left jobless. Former conductor, Sbusiso Gumede, said, “I don’t know where I will get a job now because this is all I know. I started doing this after my parents died in 2010 and I dropped out from school in grade nine. I’m not sure what I’m going to do.”
A taxi owner in the Umlazi United Taxi Association, who spoke on condition of anonymity, believes it was time for change and that as much as having conductors had its positives, there were also negatives.
“The cost of living is increasing by the day, and as businessmen we’ve had to cut costs so instead of having two wages to pay weekly, we have cut them to just one. We’ve also had so many complaints from the passengers about how rude some conductors have been to them. We are trying to also make sure that our customers are always satisfied with the service we provide,” he said.
