Siyaya

Siyaya means "We are going" in Zulu.

There has been a change in the transportation system here in Johannesburg especially because South Africa was the host country for the 2010 World Cup. A new bus system was created in hopes to provide less expensive and more safe transportation for people. The goal of Rea Vaya is to place more than 85% of Johannesburg's population within 500m of a bus network.

But there has been much protest to the new Bus Rapid Transit Project (BRT). There have been numerous attacks on Rea Vaya buses resulting in injuries and even death. Taxi drivers have protested violently including the burning of tires to obstruct roads in addition to firing shots at Rea Vaya buses. One Rea Vaya driver's house was petrol bombed because he had left his job as a taxi driver to work for BRT. Prior to the World Cup, taxi operators gathered in Pretoria to protest the BRT system and complained about plans to prevent them from carrying fans to stadiums for matches.

Taxis are known to weave through traffic with their aggressive driving compared to the BRT users who use dedicated lanes with a regular time table and designated stops. Taxis drivers are often seen as the bad guy but during apartheid they were known to carry people free of charge during the struggle. The taxi drivers have had a monopoly since apartheid as the only form of transportation for non-whites. But there is such a demand for transportation that many believe the two systems can co-exist.

When driving through Soweto, all you hear is hooting (horn honking) as taxi drivers try to get people's attention to see if they want a ride.

Taxi drivers can be very dangerous. If you are to cross one and take their route they have been known to kill. I was speaking with a friend of mine to learn more about how they work... He told me they do not own their buses. They are required to pay their boss R450 a day ($60) and they will usually only make R200 ($26) over that amount to keep for themselves. They are also required to pay their own petrol. They work long hours sometimes from 3am-11pm. The government does not like taxis because they do not pay taxes and see that their is money in it. It is not an easy life!

I have wanted to ride in a taxi ever since moving here. So, when Lori was here for a visit I had my friends Zakhele and Sibongile take us to downtown Joburg in a taxi. I truly have a new appreciation for how people in Soweto live. I thought it was fun to have this cultural experience of riding in a taxi.. but if that was my only form of transportation I know that it would get old quickly.

In order to get a taxi, you stand on the side of the road and hold up a hand signal depending on where you want to go. Taxis have their own sign language. It is not an easy task to catch one... sometimes they are full so you must wait. Other times they are empty so you have to sit on the side of the road for hours until the taxi is full before the driver will go.

I thank God for how blessed I am to have the use of a car while living here. But I'm also thankful for these experiences that allow me to walk in someone else's shoes, to understand their way of life.

The other most used form of transportation is walking. You can see people walking everywhere!