A taxi ride around Africa

This Africa Day, SA Taxi invites you to take up the passenger seat as we journey through our vibrant continent using native taxis and dilects against the backdrop of a fully curated, immersive soundtrack. So buckle up and click play for a fully loaded African road trip experience.

We start our journey in Zimbabwe on board a “Kombi”. Kombi’s are either plain white or colourfully decorated with images of celebrities or words that reflect popular culture like “Champion” or “WhatsApp”.

We then take a short left in Mozambique and jump into a Txopela – a tuk-tuk that takes a maximum of two passengers. These “taxis” have a curtain in the back seat to offer the passengers some privacy. Their small size allows them to whizz through traffic for a small fee of 150 mzn (R35) around Maputo.

Our next stop is Dar es Salaam, Tanzania where we board a “Dala Dala”. Dala’s can be small white busses or minibusses. They are operated by a driver and a conductor called a “Mpingadebe” which means “the one who beats the debe (a tin used to contain water)” to get the attention of prospective passengers. They are normally full in the mornings with passengers rushing to get to work.

Then sithi “after robot” in Nairobi Kenya and hop into a “Matatu”. They are colourful and uniquely embelished minibusses that are spray painted with graffiti or adorned with pictures of celebrities. They are staffed with a conductor called a “Makanga” or “Donda”. The inside of a Matatu can be likened to a nightclub as it is fitted with strobe lights and huge speakers.

We make our final stop in the bustling city of Lagos aboard a “Dalfo”. These are yellow busses that are the hallmark of Lagos and replaced the yellow cabs that used to transport people around the city in 2014. When you get to smaller cities like Ibadan, you will board an older model of an Audi A3 or VW Passat. You cannot miss a taxi in this city as they are all painted green.