Springs – Taxi drivers wear formal clothing in the hope of gaining respect from commuters, as they show how seriously they take their jobs.
“We want to change this mentality that we are ‘abo mageza’ (people who don’t bath regularly),” says Dovola Mabena.
The drivers, who all belong to group C on the Springs Mall roster, believe that ‘dressing up’ will help commuters respect them more.
“While we were walking around the mall today, everyone was surprised and complimenting us, so this is good,” he adds.
The group intends to wear formal clothing every Friday, when they are on duty at the mall.
Madoda Buda, queue marshal and the initiator of the idea, says the clothes also affect how the drivers themselves behave.
“The clothes will restrict, and make us respect our passengers as much as we expect them to respect us.
“It’s a two-way street,” he says.
The drivers are appealing to commuters to allow them to serve them properly.
“It is dangerous for people to catch taxis outside the mall, at the robots.
“Inside here they are safe because we are accountable to the association,” explains Mabena.
“In the event someone catches a taxi outside, beyond the mall’s fence, the association may not be able to track down the owner or driver, if anything happens to that passenger while in commute.
“Yesterday passengers found a cellphone in one of the taxis, and the owner got it back this morning after communicating with the driver.
“It is very easy to track these taxis,” adds David Ndyumdu.
