Female taxi driver from Matsulu loves her job
One of the few female taxi drivers in the city, Phindile Boni Mathonsi, has gained popularity in the taxi industry as one of the most efficient drivers.
The 40-year-old mother drives both local and long-distance routes. She is dubbed as the “Queen of the Taxi Rank” and enjoys her job of being behind the steering wheel, ferrying passengers to different destinations. She frequently operates along the routes to Hazyview, Malalane, Secunda, Ermelo, Nhlazatshe, Middelburg, Johannesburg and Pretoria, to mention a few of her routes.
“I also take passengers anywhere around the country, even beyond the borders if there are special trips,” Mathonsi said.
Speaking about how she joined the industry, she said the decision came after a long time of being unemployed and failing to secure herself a job in town. “I decided not to sell myself cheap to men in higher positions, who would ask for sex in exchange for jobs.”
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Mathonsi joined bomageza, a slang word for taxi drivers, solely to provide for her family. In her six years of experience, she has never been involved in any accidents.
Speaking about her relationship with her male counterparts, she said: “I enjoy working with the rest of the drivers, not only in the province, even beyond Mpumalanga. They respect me as a woman. They are more like a family and I always miss them whenever I am off-duty.”
Speaking of her daily encounters with passengers, Mathonsi said they differ in character. In most cases, she said passengers do not believe in her, just because she is a woman in a male-dominated industry.
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“Whenever I take the driver’s seat, you hear some passengers whispering if I will be capable of driving them safely to their destinations and on time. That happens just because I am a woman. I always keep my calm, stick to the rules of the road and do what I know best. The same passengers will end up commending my driving,”
she added.
Mathonsi appeals to commuters to take female drivers seriously. “I would love to see more women joining the industry and even owning their own taxis. My dream is to drive my own taxi one day,” she concluded.
