Have you ever imagined what it would be like if businesses singlehandedly decided to prevent us from buying from street vendors?
Have you ever imagined what it would be like if businesses singlehandedly decided to prevent us from buying from street vendors?
Obviously, the vendors would be prevented from selling their goods in front of shops and we would most certainly be harassed by shop owners at the slightest suspicion of engaging in a business transaction with a vendor. If you think that such a scenario would create chaos of unimaginable proportions, then you would agree with me that the Makana Transport Forum’s decision to prevent hitchhiking in town is insane.
This exercise does not only violate our right to choose which mode of transport to take and at what cost, but also undermines the public’s right to freedom of choice. The extent of humiliation suffered by hitchhikers at the hands of taxi owners when they remove you from a private vehicle could not possibly be worth your taxi fare, no matter how exorbitant it may be.
The humiliation I suffered in the hands of violent taxi owners while hitchhiking along the Port Elizabeth freeway two years ago could only be eclipsed by the trauma I sustained after being manhandled. I was surprised to come out of the entire ordeal uninjured, because I could feel that the threat of violence was not only real, but was my fate.
It happened that I was in a hurry to catch a drama rehearsal in Grahamstown when the perpetrators removed me from the side of the road after it became evident that I was hitchhiking. My only crime was having waved my thumb to passing vehicles. Before I knew it, a white Toyota Cressida with a big Uncedo Services Taxi Association sticker on the side had pulled up beside me. It was clear that they were not going to give me a lift.
"Where are you going?" they asked resolutely. "Colchester," I replied knowing very well that there are no taxis that go to Colchester. "Get into the car," commanded the guy sitting next to the driver. While walking to the car I made a point of asking where were they were taking me. "To where you can catch a lift to Colchester," came the blunt response.
"Where exactly are you taking me, bhuti?" I panicked after noticing the car turning back to PE. "To the Truckers Inn, didn’t you say you want a lift to Colchester?" grunted the driver. "Of course," was my reply. They explained how they were going to monitor my movements at the Truckers’ Inn and warned me not to board any vehicle other than the cars that usually take people to Colchester.
"We will f**k you up if you pull any funny tricks, kwedini? Whose business are you f**king up?" said the enraged driver while wagging his finger a millimetre or two away from my forehead. I felt an avalanche of ice running down my spine as I got off only to be swallowed up by a sea of taxi drivers.
I called the police thrice, and despite their promises none came to my rescue. Not even the cops who were patrolling the streets in vehicles that I, as a taxpayer, had paid for, came to my aid. I immediately alerted my cast, family and friends to the situation.
The fact of the matter is that catching a taxi is not only a safety risk (especially considering how unroadworthy most of them are), but also a sure way of arriving late at your destination. What makes boarding a taxi extremely time consuming is that you have to wait until the flippant thing is full before it makes a move. But more importantly, some people cannot afford the random prices charged by taxis and therefore rather rely on lifts. This does not mean, however, that hitching a lift is entirely safe, but in the end it is your choice to do so or not.
I hope that members of the local taxi forum will think with their heads and not with their stomaches and respect the law by not threatening or removing hitchhikers from the outskirts of town. Local law enforcement agencies agree unanimously that there is no by-law preventing us from hitchhiking and I can bet you both my thumbs, there are some possessed taxi drivers out there who will resort to violence. Just remember, he who calls the taxi, pays the price.
