The driver, travelling in a blue Toyota Quantum, picked up the men at Mkhancwa Village, near Ergo, at about 6.50pm.
The trio had paid their fare and the driver was sorting out the change, when one of the men pointed a gun at him.
The hijacker instructed the driver to move over to the passenger seat; he was searched and robbed of R950 and his cellphone.
The hijackers told the driver they were going to take him to Johannesburg and threatened to shoot him.
The driver, however, managed to escape as the taxi pulled off, and he sought help from a security guard at a nearby business.
Police were alerted and found the vehicle abandoned near Carnival City.
