Abstract:
The COVID-19 outbreak in late 2019 illustrated how biological facts and social
processes often intersect to account for differential epidemiological patterns of disease
outbreaks. In South Africa, the legacy of apartheid, which facilitated separate
development, intersected with structural inequalities to shape the spread of the
outbreak. In this study, I explore the stories of minibus taxi drivers and commuters in
Mpumalanga Township, Durban, South Africa, about commuting during the COVID 19 pandemic. Informal minibus taxis are the most popular mode of public
transportation in South Africa, as they are responsible for up to 70% of daily
commutes. However, minibus taxis are usually overcrowded, lack adequate
ventilation, and are situated in areas that lack the most basic sanitation facilities; thus
making them “hotspots” for the transmission of airborne diseases such as the novel
coronavirus. Minibus taxis, due to the essential role they play in the lives of the majority
of black urban South Africans, cannot be completely shut down during a pandemic.
Using the theoretical framework of structural violence, I argue that the everyday lived
experiences of taxi drivers and commuters make them vulnerable to contracting an
airborne disease such as COVID-19, especially because they are unable to avoid
high-risk situations such as commuting. Additionally, the government’s attempts to
curb the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak further deepened the precarity of those
who generate an income from the informal sector, including the minibus taxi industry.
This structural violence to which my interlocutors are exposed is born out the deep
inequality that characterises the larger South African economy. I argue that structural
violence is not merely a matter of social inequality; it is that inequality leads to
increased risk. The overall argument of this dissertation is that existing social, political,
and economic factors intersected with the COVID-19 pandemic to exacerbate the
already existing precarity of those who operate and use minibus taxis. I was able to
draw on how the intersection of minibus taxi operations, the working conditions of taxi
drivers, minibus taxi ownership, funding, and the government’s policies amplified this
precarity during a health emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic. I therefore call
for the improvement of the minibus taxi industry as a matter of social equity. This will
require the extension of public transport subsidies to the minibus taxi industry. I further
call for a review of the government’s funding model of the minibus taxi industry through
the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme.
