Taking the wheel back

Yet again mini-bus taxi commuters have become victims. Those thugs who run the taxi industry have struck again. Like petulant toddlers, they were instructed to hold their breath, pout and throw tantrums. In the taxi world this means, completely disregarding the rights of others, behaving like criminals and holding the public to ransom, all because they feel they don't get their way. Boo hoo. Good luck in finding even an inkling of sympathy.This week another strike among taxi operators was held, this time in Soweto.
It only takes a handful of drivers to down their keys and cause enough chaos to ruin anyone's day. And it's not just taxi commuters who are affected. It's a domino effect of note. With taxis off the roads (as idyllic as it sounds, it's actually not) more pressure is put on buses and trains. people are forced to use private vehicles. Already congested highways become impossible to navigate. Nerves are frayed, frustrations reach fever pitch. Soon the grey hairs start sprouting, that unsightly vein in your neck pulses like a male porn stars member and often road rage is the only way to vent. Hooters become weapons and our language descends into the doldrums of cursing. I think I can safely say the majority of us dislike taxi drivers (forgive the euphemism, hate is acceptable in certain contexts). But why should we allow ourselves to be even further victimised by this ramshackle, recalcitrant, backward industry? I'm not alone in using this description. deputy-Transport minister, Jeremy Cronin, often criticises taxi bosses using similar language.
Here's an idea. What would happen if tomorrow all commuters, regardless of race, culture and economic standing, just boycotted the use of mini-bus taxis? Those of us(un)lucky enough to have our transport to embark on solidarity industrial action. It's a long shot, I know, but what if we all just summoned up the guts to do it? We'd bring this mafia-like industry to it's knees. It's actually easy when money is involved. We'd deprive them of money which only serves to beef up the bosses bank accounts. The drivers get very little and are themselves victims of their employers. I've yet to meet a happy-go-lucky taxi driver. There's a reason they drive and behave the way they do. Yes, half of them don't have drivers licences and their vehicles are nothing short of death traps. But they are victims of their bosses arrogance and greed.
So, why can't taxi commuters make their own stand? Why can't other road-users send out a clear message, not just in limp-wristed, yet strongly-worded statements, but through trenchant action? Instead of being the one's who queue for hours, shove and force their ways onto bulging buses and trains during taxi strikes, why don't they just take a stand and for one or two days completely sideline taxis? As with the converse of such situations, where taxi drivers feel misguidedlyemboldened by behaving like animals, we may just be able to take some power back and hit them them back. It's simple economics. With no money coming in, they'd have to resort to their own contingency plans, much like government and municipalities who are lefts scrambling in dealing with crippling strikes. My guess is, they have no plan and owuld have little choice but to at least partly abandon their rogue attitude and actually employ some common sense. Maybe the bosses will be force out of their dungeons to face the reality of what of normal road-users and their drivers go through daily.