Taxi Hand Signals

 By: Neville Grimmet

Because the apartheid government provide insufficient transport and townships were located far away a vibrant informal transport industry arose and the time of the minibus taxi dawned. Sure there are taxi ranks, but that is where the coolest guys strip of their shirt, get out their buckets and wash their mean machines until they shine like they're just off the shopfloor. Taxis stop wherever they like although they often run along an informal route.

Many people living in Durban would know that you do not need to tell the driver assistant (the smallish guy who operates the door and takes the bucks) in a taxi where you are headed. One assumes that if you jump into the taxi you would know where you are going because of the hand signs that you made to get the vehicle to stop for you. These signs have become well known across Durban and if you are from out of town you are going to have to learn what they  mean otherwise you'll want to go to Umlazi and end up in Chatsworth.

One word of warning about taxis - they are not for the squeamish  - the drivers are always in a hurry and the decibels are usually very high. Many taxis spend more money on their sound system than the value of a small car, so if you have sensitive ears, wear earplugs.

Over the years, a set of hand signals have been developed to signify some of the more well used destinations like town centre and The Wheel. The Town sign, this is simply the lifting of the index finger in the air. Then we have the Wheel, South Beach and Point sign which is the index finger making a circular motion. All these signs will get you from a residential area to the CBD but they become more complicated when you need to get from the CBD to a residential area.