WeeklySA_AdminREGULATORY: The sector moves 70% of daily commuters, yet it operates largely on informal networks of trust and power. New research argues that meaningful reform must recognise these social bonds rather than attempt to dismantle them…
By Siyabulela Christopher Fobosi
South Africa’s minibus taxi industry is the backbone of the country’s public transport system. Every day, millions of commuters rely on it, particularly in low-income and peri-urban communities where alternatives are limited or non-existent. The sector accounts for roughly 70% of daily public transport trips nationwide.
Despite its scale and importance, however, the industry remains largely informal. It is governed less by formal contracts and regulatory systems than by relationships, trust and unwritten rules.
For scholars of industrial and economic sociology, this makes the taxi industry a critical case study. It illustrates how regulation, labour and economic life function in practice — particularly in contexts marked by inequality, informality and contested state authority.
The same networks of trust that keep the taxi industry moving also
shape who holds power within it — reform must strengthen the
good without entrenching the harm…
In a recent study, my co-author and I explored how social capital — the networks, shared norms and trust that connect people — shapes governance, labour relations and everyday operations in the minibus taxi sector.
We conducted a structured review of academic databases and South African institutional repositories, analysing 62 peer-reviewed articles, theses and policy reports. Our central finding is clear: social capital within the taxi industry operates as a double-edged sword. The same dense networks of trust and reciprocity that enable the sector to function also entrench inequality, exclusion and, at times, violence.
This matters because policy debates have often treated informality either as a problem to eliminate or as a reality to tolerate. Our research suggests that sustainable reform requires a hybrid approach — one that works with existing social networks rather than against them.
Born of Exclusion
The modern minibus taxi industry took shape during apartheid, when black South Africans were systematically excluded from formal urban planning and public transport provision. Long distances between racially segregated townships and economic centres created demand for alternative transport.
Entrepreneurs stepped in with minibuses, offering flexible and community-embedded services. The industry expanded rapidly because it was decentralised, responsive and rooted in lived realities.
After 1994, the sector continued to grow but was never fully integrated into formal transport planning. Today, it comprises hundreds of thousands of vehicles organised into approximately 1,500 taxi associations nationwide.
These associations regulate routes, manage disputes and coordinate operations. Alongside them are individual taxi owners, who lease vehicles to drivers, often without written contracts.
Part of the reason for limited integration lies in the state’s constrained capacity and political leverage to impose consistent oversight. In the absence of effective regulation, informal governance systems — rooted in social relationships — evolved.
Social Capital
The concept of social capital is often linked to political scientist Robert Putnam, who described it as networks and norms that enable collective action. Trust and cooperation, in this view, help communities solve shared problems.
Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu offered a more critical lens. For him, social capital could also consolidate power and exclude outsiders.
Drawing on these traditions, we identify three forms of social capital in the taxi industry:
• Bonding: tight-knit networks within taxi associations and owner groups
• Bridging: connections across associations and stakeholder groups
• Linking: vertical ties between the industry and formal institutions such as government, banks and law enforcement
All three are present — but unevenly developed and not always beneficial.
Sustain the Sector
Bonding social capital is especially strong within taxi associations. These bodies function as powerful, though informal, regulatory institutions. They control routes, set fare guidelines and enforce norms. Membership provides access to shared resources and protection in a competitive market.
Such dense networks enable rapid coordination. Disputes are often resolved internally. Routes can be adjusted quickly in response to shifting demand or new residential developments.
Trust also underpins financial arrangements. Many owners rely on rotating credit schemes and informal savings groups to finance vehicles. Because banks often view the sector as high-risk, social networks substitute for formal credit systems.
Similarly, the driver-owner relationship frequently rests on trust. Drivers lease vehicles for fixed daily fees without written contracts, governed by informal understandings.
In this way, social capital fills regulatory gaps left by weak or uneven state oversight.
Networks Entrench Power
Yet the same bonding networks that ensure coordination can reinforce hierarchy and exclusion.
Taxi associations control access to routes — the industry’s primary source of income. This gives them considerable authority. Dense internal networks can create barriers for outsiders seeking entry.
Route disputes are common and sometimes escalate into violence. In a system where survival depends on territorial control and formal mediation is weak, economic competition can quickly turn volatile.
Here, social capital becomes a resource of dominance. Associations mobilise networks to maintain authority and legitimacy.
Drivers, however, often occupy a precarious position. Many are not association members. They must meet fixed daily targets, frequently working shifts exceeding 12 hours. If earnings fall short, they absorb the loss.
Without formal contracts, drivers typically lack access to medical benefits, unemployment insurance or retirement savings. Trust-based systems limit recourse in cases of exploitation.
Social capital, in other words, benefits some actors more than others.
Missing Link
While bonding social capital within associations is strong, linking social capital between the industry and formal institutions remains weak.
Government interventions — most notably the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme — aimed to modernise vehicles, improve safety and integrate the sector into national transport planning. Implementation, however, has been uneven.
Top-down reforms often fail because they do not engage with existing informal governance structures. When state interventions threaten association autonomy, resistance follows. Limited trust between officials and industry actors results in partial compliance.
Policy that ignores embedded authority structures rarely succeeds.
Toward Hybrid Governance
Reform must recognise social capital as both foundation and fault line. Rather than dismantling informal systems, policymakers should build on them while introducing safeguards.
One pathway is the legal recognition of taxi associations as cooperatives. This could enhance access to subsidies, training and finance, while clarifying governance and accountability.
Standardised employment contracts for drivers would provide greater security, define working hours and establish formal dispute resolution mechanisms.
Digital technologies may also assist. Mobile payment systems could reduce cash dependency, increase transparency and minimise fare disputes. Digital route management platforms could improve fairness and record-keeping.
Crucially, drivers, owners and commuters must be involved in shaping these reforms.
A Delicate Balance
The future of South Africa’s minibus taxi industry depends on striking a careful balance. Reform cannot ignore the dense networks that keep the system operational. But neither can it overlook the inequalities and conflicts those networks sometimes sustain.
Strengthening bridging and linking social capital — across associations and between the industry and the state — can reduce violence, improve accountability and support safer working conditions.
The challenge is not to dismantle the social fabric of the taxi industry, but to reshape it so that trust and collective action serve all who depend on it — not only those with the most power.
Although this study focuses on South Africa, its lessons resonate across the global south, where informal transport systems are often more adaptable than formal ones, yet more vulnerable to exploitation and instability.
Reform, if it is to succeed, must recognise a simple reality: this industry runs on social bonds. Policy must start there. – The Conversation
* The writer, Siyabulela Fobosi, is a senior re searcher, UNESCO ‘Oliver Tambo’ Chair of Human Rights, University of Fort Hare, University of Fort Hare
