Township Transport

When you drive through Guguletu, Phillipi, Khayelitsha, or any other township area, you're sure to see just about every kind of vehicle made. Big cars, small cars, expensive cars, beaters, trucks of every size flow through the narrow streets. They don't even have to have all their parts, or have any of them working (other than the engine, of course) to qualify as transportation. In fact, it's almost like a beat-up car is a badge of honour, the way some people drive them.

Very few people in the townships can actually afford their own cars. When a new car is bought, it's cause for a party. I drove by a group on the street once and was told that they were celebrating the purchase of a new car. They really meant a new USED car, but it was a new car to that family. Everyone on the block gets a ride to show it off. It's like I remember new cars as a kid - it was a big deal on our block when someone got a brand new car. I remember when we got a new station wagon in the early 70s, it was the talk of the block for weeks. Maybe it was just the orange color and wood siding...

For those without cars, there are three basic forms of transportation available. Which one you use just depends on where you're going and when.

The first is the city bus, known here as the Golden Arrow ("The Bus for Us"). These circulate through the townships and generally only go to Cape Town and back. It costs about R4 to R6 for a ride, depending on how far the trip is. People will use these to go to work and back, but not for local travel.

The alternative to the city bus is the minibus taxi. These are usually VW or Toyota minibuses, (known here as a combi), outfitted to hold up to 16 people. They are manned by a driver and a doorman, who also acts as the sales guy. He usually hangs out the open door or a window and yells at people on the sidewalk to drum up business. Rides cost about R6 or R8, again depending on where you're going. While the biggest use of these vehicles is to go from the townships to the city, people so use them inside Cape Town proper to get from one side to another. I haven't used one yet (because I have a car), but they are considered safe (as long as you know where you're going and pack lightly) and lots of locals use them as their primary transport.

The third type, and the most common in the townships, is the "regular" taxi. These are only meant for local trips, or for moving from one township area to another (like from Guguletu to Phillipi). These cars are almost all Toyota Cressidas, for some unknown reason. They look like 1990s-era boxy Corolla or Camry. (I get a lot of waves from people during the morning rush because they think my Corolla is a taxi. But it's in way too good a shape.) Most of the taxis are beaters, with lights missing, cracked windscreens, and missing body parts. The hiring process is not like in the U.S. When you hail a taxi, you don't get your own car. The driver will continue picking up people until he has about 6 or 7 people in the car (2-3 in the front and 4-5 in the back. In a compact car.) Then he makes the drops. Township residents call these cars cockroaches because when they stop it looks like a bunch of roaches scrambling out of a box. Rides cost about R4 to R8, depending on distance.

When you drive through the townships you quickly learn to set aside any traffic rules you learned in drivers ed. Stop signs are just suggestions. Red lights mean to drive faster so the next 4 cars can shoot through. If you feel like you've waited long enough at a red light, you can just go ahead. You can also pass anyone whenever you want, even if there's oncoming traffic. They should jump the curb and drive on the sidewalk if necessary so you can proceed. You can also drive down the middle of the side streets until just before you're due to hit the car coming from the other way. It's not playing chicken exactly, but it certainly keeps the adrenaline flowing. Speed limits vary from "I'm in no hurry and you'll have to crawl behind me for a while" to "get the hell out of my way."

Pedestrians also are a challenge. For a country that doesn't believe in pedestrian right-of-ways, people walk whenever and wherever they want. It's not at all unusual for people to trot across three lanes of oncoming traffic traveling at 50 miles an hour. People also walk along the streets so close to cars that I swear I've felt pants legs brush against my car as I'm going. I'm amazed there aren't more accidents than there are.

The other transportation you see here is the cart horse. I see about 2 or 3 of these a day. They are mainly used by scrap haulers because they're cheap and don't break down. At the end of the day the horses are let loose in fields to graze and then put in some kind of barn at night. While most owners care for their horses at least okay, some of the horses are awfully thin and many are pulling extreme weights. There is a cart horse association who looks after these animals, to make sure the owners know how to care for them and that the horses get enough quality food and water. At least they're not roaming the streets like the dogs.

More to come.