January 10, 2003
By Tendai Dhliwayo
IT is nearing four on a lazy Wednesday afternoon and the gigantic Noord Street taxi rank in central Johannesburg is gradually filling up from all directions with haggard-looking faces. The only energetic people are the queue marshals and other touts as well as taxi drivers breathtakingly negotiating their vehicles with dazzling virtuosity.
The ill-tempered marshals are in full swing and in their trademark no-nonsense mood. Commuters interrupting with questions about the destinations of taxis or where to get taxis to their destinations simply receive menacing looks, compelling other would-be questioners to back off and seek the help of fellow commuters. Those who seem disorganised or unsure of anything are brushed aside with contempt. Some are openly harangued and told to "vok off".
Amid the deafening hullabaloo from the hooting and screeching of tyres, the voices of the marshals and those of other touts can be heard hollering to desperate and confused commuters.
"One Alexandra, one Alexandra. Alex all stesh (station)," echoes the sounds of one marshal as he tries to outdo the hubbub within the rank. "Woza la mfowethu, Woza ungene la," (come here friend, come and get in here), barks another at the top of his lungs, beckoning to a distraught commuter. "Kanti wena wenzani la? Faka ngale into yakho. Asidlali la," (What are you doing here, put your parcel away. We are not playing here), orders one of the marshals, somehow hyperactive and reeking of booze. The elderly woman he is talking to is weighed down by a roll of kitchen carpet and has slowed down the progress of people filing into the taxi as she figures out where to put her possession.
Though politeness is a phenomenon they would rather not embrace whilst in their line of duty, the queue marshals can execute their duties with mesmerising efficiency. During peak hours, a taxi meant to carry 15 passengers can do with four more. And the marshals have the rare skills of arranging people to accommodate the extra passengers. Bags are bundled under seats, and passengers are somehow squeezed in.
After successfully packing in passengers, the marshal makes sure doors are properly closed before he dashes over to the driver's side where a coin is secretly thrust in the palm before the taxi takes off. "I don't get fokol, my friend. I only get these few coins after loading a taxi. I don't get fokol, but Friday I get something, you see," says one of the semi-drunk marshals who declines to be named.
People rush for a ride home at the Noord Street taxi rank
Commuters are used to being ill-treated and have learned to bear with the constant harangue by the marshals and touts operating haphazardly in taxi ranks. But soon the conduct of these overzealous personnel will change.
A by-law has been drafted to provide for the regulation and control of public transport services within the municipal area of the Council. This is expected to help improve rapport between commuters and marshals. Enshrined in the metered taxi, minibus, midibus and bus by-law, is the way marshals should execute their duties.
Once the by-law is implemented, they will be obliged to be courteous and to show respect to all commuters.
The draft by-law states that, a queue marshal at any rank will have to be identifiable as to who he or she is employed by and must display his or her name conspicuously on his or her clothing below the left shoulder.
Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any provisions of the by-laws is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine or in default of payment to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 6 months.
According to Mandla Mnguni, public relations officer for the Gauteng Taxi Council (Gataco), previously drivers hired their own queue marshals but, at times, they ended up losing control of them. The system, according to Mnguni, has since changed and now Gataco is handling the hiring of marshals. He feels that there should be a law regulating them and a proposal has been made to educate and train all marshals in customer care and service starting at the end of January.
The training will ensure marshals are given codes of conduct and those who end up breaching them will be dealt with, says Mnguni.
Taxis prepare to ferry passengers
The public has the first half of February to submit their comments concerning the draft by-laws. Copies of draft by laws can be obtained from people's centres around the city.
