JARRED MARTIN | Reimagine commuter transport infrastructure, prioritise women's safety

Millions of people use minibus taxis to get about SA every day.

These “pillars of public transport” account for 66.5% of all road transport.

The vast majority of minibus taxi commuters come from lower-income and historically marginalised communities of colour that still bear the brunt of apartheid era spatial planning. They often don’t live close to their offices or schools and typically experience longer commuting times.

Unfortunately, taxis are not necessarily safe for women. They are like so many other public spaces in a country with some of the world’s highest rates of sexual violence and murder of women by men.

The threat of sexual violence often characterises women’s lives in SA. Research about homes, schools, workplaces and university campuses has consistently highlighted how the threat of sexual harassment and violence makes women feel unsafe in the everyday spaces they occupy and move through.

Less attention has focused on women’s experiences of feeling unsafe in the mobile spaces they use for daily commuting. This is surprising, considering the reports of women being subjected to sexual harassment and acts of assault when commuting.

To address this gap, I conducted a study that explored women’s experiences of feeling threatened with sexual violence while commuting on minibus taxis, and what they did to reduce the risks.

The government, the minibus taxi industry and commuter rights groups could use my findings to help make commuting safer for women.

The research also highlights that commuting systems and transport networks are not gender-neutral or unaffected by the threat of sexual violence that women face daily in SA.

I interviewed 14 women who used minibus taxis daily.

All the participants were students at a university in Gauteng and were aged between 19 and 32.

All 14 relied on minibus taxis to get to and from their residences, campus, part-time places of work and places where they socialised or relaxed.

The participants all said they often felt anxious and hypervigilant when commuting. This echoes research that has pointed to the “enduringly stressful affect of minibus taxi commuting” for women.

One of the foremost issues to arise was the trade-off between safety and convenience.

The participants had all developed a finely tuned sense of their usual routes, relying on this sense when evaluating their safety as a taxi trip unfolded, especially if they found themselves commuting at night or if alone.

The close confines of minibus taxis, which have a legal capacity of between 10 and 15 passengers, sometimes led to fraught interactions with men.

Sadly, the interviewees viewed being unsafe, whether on taxis or anywhere else, as part of their everyday lived experience as women in SA. This was poignantly expressed by one woman when she mentioned the 2019 murder of Cape Town University student Uyinene Mrwetyana in a Post Office building.

Violence against women arises within a context where it’s normal to devalue women. That must change, or the threat of sexual violence will persist, regardless of how women commute.

The design of commuter transport infrastructure, particularly for the minibus taxi industry, needs to be reimagined through a gendered perspective. Public transport projects should make sure taxi ranks and stops are well-lit, equipped with surveillance and designed with clear sightlines. Trained public safety personnel and emergency communication systems should be part of the planning.

There is also an urgent need for a broader range of safe, affordable and efficient public transport options. The decline of reliable public transport, in particular urban bus and rail services, has turned many commuters into “transit captives” of the minibus taxi industry.

Most public transport users in SA are women. They should have more safe, efficient and affordable options to choose from.

It’s crucial to work with the men who dominate the minibus taxi industry – who own and drive taxis – to create safer commuting environments for women.

• Martin is a senior lecturer in clinical psychology at the University of Pretoria