Entrepreneurs will always find a way. Taxi operators in the 1950s and 1960s invested in large American sedans – Chrysler Valiants, Dodge Monacos and the “Six Mabone” – the nickname given to the 1965 Chevrolet Impala with its six tail lights and nowadays slang for anything that is really cool. “American cars were cool to have back in the day and a car that had six lights basically meant you were really cool,” says Mxolisi Mhlongo, a producer at Kaya FM radio station. Drivers could transport six adults at a time – to all intents looking like a family, even though the passengers were often strangers to each other – and blend in with other cars on the road. But there were not enough American sedans available to meet the demand.
As the government found it too expensive to subsidise the growing demand for public transport, it tried to curb costs by limiting buses and trains to peak times and inflexible routes. This made it even more difficult for people to get around.
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