How Much Is A Taxi From Soweto To Johannesburg

[Lida Rick]

Ina minibus taxi, there is an unwritten rule that whoever occupies the front seat next to the driver, has to count the money for the driver. Sometimes there are disputes over how much change is supposed to go where, and the blame falls squarely on those sitting on the front seat.

Stunt driver

A taxi ride from Soweto to the inner city can be quite an experience for first timers. There is never a dull moment in a kasi taxi, with drivers resorting to all sorts of stunts to beat the peak hour traffic.

There are usually plenty of stickers plastered inside to entertain you. Some instruct you not to eat or drink inside the taxi; some threaten you not to bang the door or risk punishment though several blood-curdling ways.

Today, the taxi takes the Soweto Highway route past the massive FNB Stadium, venue for the 2010 World Cup. It never ceases to amaze and many commuters stretch their necks to stare at the 90 000-seat structure, built in the form of an African calabash.

You either call 011 930 7461 between Monday and Friday 08:00 and 17:00 or email in...@sowetotheatre.com to submit a request to be included in the database. You can also fill in the form on the right hand side of this website to be added to the Soweto Theatre database.

You can catch a minibus taxi from Joburg CBD at the Bree taxi rank. Within Soweto, Bara and Dobsonville taxi rank are your best options.

There is a Rea Vaya drop off point on Koma Rd 200 metres from the theatre.

Inhlanzane Train Station is situated along the Naledi line and is also 200 metres away from the theatre.

Before long [after 1994], democracy was more or less stifled within the ANC and its Communist and trade union allies. It soon got to the point where you could get expelled from the South African Communist Party for advocating Communism.

At high noon on Saturday, March 6, 2010, using our cell phones until we were ten feet apart, Comrade Kotsi and I rendez-voused near a landmark called the Carleton Centre in downtown Jo'burg. This neighborhood is an ill-planned mix of skyscraper office buildings and shabby storefront businesses. For most of the day, the only people on the streets are hordes of the economically marginal. Downtown Jo'burg has lost much of its economic and cultural vitality to a mushrooming group of suburbs, in this case to the north, places such as Rosebank and Sandton. Comrade Kotsi came to meet me from Soweto in a mini-bus, which is called a taxi in South Africa. We folded ourselves into my rental car and headed back south, following a tortuous route in order to avoid highway traffic.

We also drove past massive cookie-cutter blocs of what are called RDP houses.

An example of ongoing but outdated behavior is in the field of housing. The matchbox scheme houses built by the old apartheid government were called NE 51/9's - NE stood for Non European and the 51 was because they were designed in 1951. Although they're now called RDP [Reconstruction and Development Programme] houses, South Africa is essentially still building NE 51/9's across the country.

The land for RDP housing is often obtained by razing shack settlements, which are at the low end of Soweto's housing stock. Somewhere between mansions and shack settlements are the RDP blocs and the many neighborhoods comprising everything from single shacks to modest homes.

Before we got down to serious business, we decided to stop for lunch at a bastion of capitalism, the Maponya Mall, the largest in Soweto. On the way to Maponya, we drove past a building that epitomizes the scramble for survival in today's South Africa.

RS: They're not going to shut this thing on me? What is this for?

CK: When you pass out, they can check to know whether the car is stolen or not.

RS: How do they check?

CK: If the key is in the car. The thieves don't use keys. The hairpin. Or the money clip.

RS: This is like a complete city.

After we left the mall and were back on the main road, Kotsi sounded even more like a committed outsider, a Comrade. He was realistic and frank about both the accomplishments and problems of the SECC:

CK: In Kliptown, we've managed to reconnect electricity. ESKOM is saying we steal this electricity. We don't see it as stealing, because when you steal, you sell it somewhere. You see all of the wires that are flowing on top of the houses?

We entered Dhlamini, where Kotsi greeted many people by name. We crawled along a narrow, unpaved road crowded with children playing and men working on cars or just hanging out. Kotsi kept speaking to people, introducing me to a few, and explaining that I was in a hurry, in order to account for our rudeness in not stopping longer.

CK: This was the squatter camp of Dhlamini.

RS: Where is it?

CK: Now they've removed them to the RDP houses. Only few families who were left, then they sold their houses to immigrants because they [immigrants] don't qualify for the RDP houses.

With my help, Kotsi pried open the box. It took us only a minute or two. Coincidentally, as we worked, from an unseen radio or some other nearby source came music that sounded dangerous, a repetitive, twanging guitar. Kotsi showed me the illegal connections inside the box. We closed it and drove on.

1. What is Soweto today?

My experience of multi-class Soweto encapsulated the current conflict in South Africa between the economic development of the nation and, in particular, of the Black middle class, and the desperate project of trying to satisfy the needs of the poor. I also experienced, first-hand, the meeting of cultures. Across South Africa, malls appear to be the principal social hubs, or public spaces, their relative drabness or flash reflecting the communities in which they do business. What strikes one most about these public spaces, from Maponya to the very upscale Sandton malls, is the sight of the Black masses of South Africa eagerly ingesting the goods and culture of global capitalism.

Too little work has been done on the psychology of activism. A lot of activists have an anti-Establishment streak. Middle-class leftists, too, are concerned about social justice issues. But there are also god-fearing, law-abiding citizens, often deeply committed to a more egalitarian society. And, sometimes, you'll find both things in the same person.

Patrick Bond:

From a first stage of critique to a second stage, based on a formidable grassroots movement for urban reform, perhaps revolution, that shakes the apartheid-capitalist city at its roots, we may not have long to wait around the corner of the 21st century, if the contradictions associated with South Africa's new urban crisis continue intensifying.

Although it is part of the City Sightseeing Bus offering, it does not work on the hop-on hop-off concept in that you do not go there on the big bus or change buses. Instead, it is a 2-hour tour in a bright red minibus taxi with a live tour guide that stops at several different places of significance in Soweto. Some of the stops are photo stops and at others you are given more time to explore your surroundings.

I had last been on a guided tour of Soweto over 10 years ago, with my colleagues at the corporate I worked for. This one was quite different and Soweto itself had changed since then although its history and heritage remain intact.

There were 9 of us on the bus besides the driver and the tour guide. We were 4 South Africans. The others were American, German and Emirati. Our guide Nipho introduced himself and then asked us to introduce ourselves. The foreigners were all bestowed with uniquely South African names, to their amusement. Throughout the tour of Soweto, Nipho immersed us into the unique township lifestyle, sharing personal anecdotes and teaching us kasi taal (local township slang) and taxi sign language, as he gave us information on our surroundings.

As we passed the mine dumps separating Johannesburg City from Soweto we caught our first glimpse of the sprawling township. Then we were welcomed to Soweto by the sign board at the Diepkloof entrance. Nipho pointed Diepkloof Extension out to us which is home to the relatively wealthy in Soweto and added that the locals call it Diepkloof Expensive.

The Kliptown Open Air Museum at Walter Sisulu Square was our last stop. In 1995, 3000 people from different backgrounds, classes and races came together here to adopt the Freedom Charter. The 10 resolutions that form the basis of the South African Constitution are etched in a concrete slab divided into 10 sectors. This is also where the Soweto Hotel is located. It is the only 4-star hotel in Soweto and is most unusual because it was built on stilts to allow the fresh produce market underneath it to continue its trade.

Sara Essop is a travel blogger and writer based in South Africa. She writes about family travel and experiences around the world. Although she has been to 49 countries thus far, she especially loves showcasing her beautiful country and is a certified South Africa Specialist.

Wow, fab post, looks amazing. I would love to go to South Africa and it looks like there so much to see and do in your home city. Johannesburg was never on the radius but this post highlights all the fab sights that the city has to offer!

Thank you for the help, was looking for buses from Johannesburg to Lobamba, Swaziland, and all i could find was an expensive luxury bus. Your article was of great help. I feel embarrassed to mention i actually live in Pretoria and frequent Johannesburg quite a lot but i did not know this information. Thank you once again.

Hello! Thanks for commenting! No problem! I wrote this post because I was in the exact same position as you, and I was happy I learned this other way! Glad to be of help and I hope you enjoy your trip!

Hello and thanks for your comment! It depends on what your nationality is. For me, I needed my passport and that was it. It may be different for you. I recommend checking websites about Swaziland entry requirements to find the answer you are looking for!

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