John is a breath of fresh air at the Seshego-Polokwane taxi rank

POLOKWANE – When you arrive at the Seshego Polokwane Taxi Association (SPTA) taxi rank in the city centre for the first time, John Morapa can be easily perceived as a strict taxi marshall due to his loud, husky voice directing commuters to respective vehicles.

For regulars, however, he is a humorous figure and a breath of fresh air, especially after long hours of work in the city back to into the extension townships.

His theatrics will certainly help you reach the taxi meant for your desired destination almost immediately.

Aged 47 and with seemingly a lot of experience at first glance, Morapa, who resides in Juju Valley has only been in the taxi industry for almost three years.

“I hail from Bochum and had been working in various industries for all these other years until I found my passion, which came with interacting through people a lot.”

Moropa said people have always found him to be a funny character, but he describes himself as a “straight-faced man”.

While it is in the lighter moments that he directs commuters, they get to interact with him daily before heading off.

He says the hardest part of his job, is usually during peak hours.

“Between 16:30 and 19:00, you have to ensure that there is quality marshalling, and that commuters know exactly which taxi to board. And I can assure you, not everyone hears it at first. You may have to repeat it and even make a song out of it until at least one person really understands which vehicle is meant for them – that is the hardest part of my job,” he jokes.

His colleagues describes John as a hard-working man.

He was recently promoted by the association into the part- time position of kraal marshall.

This means on some days, he is responsible for most administrative duties of all the taxis that make their way into the extensions terminal.