Taxi Driving For Beginners: A Crash Course

So, yesterday, we were driving down Strand Street to drop a passenger off at the station when we stopped at a red light. A real taxi pulled up next to us. The driver took one look at our cardboard ‘Free Taxi’ signs (which we forgot we shouldn’t really put on our taxi, for this very reason) and scowled. He shouted at us. FREE TAXI?! We quickly assured him that our Taxi was not actually free and is, in fact, the most expensive taxi in the CBD, so expensive that people have to take loans to go in our Taxi and the ‘free’ part was ‘free’ as in ‘freedom’ or something like that. This is all, obviously, not true. But at that moment, we felt it appropriate to lie. Through our chattering teeth.

This appeared to mollify him. He then eyed out the Carolla and asked if we wanted to swop taxis with him. We said we’d consider it. He then offered to buy the Carolla (everybody wants to buy the Carolla) and made a substantial cash offer. We asked him for his number.

His name is Ade. Scowl is his natural facial expression. While we were taking his details we explained the project, and how we have discovered that we are the worst Taxi drivers the City, possibly the world, has ever seen. We asked him if he’d give us a lesson, and because Ade is actually a legend guy, he agreed, saying it would be his pleasure.

So, today, he picked us up on Shortmarket and Long in one of his 10 taxis, and we set forth on one of the fun-est adventures we’ve ever had – a short course in Cape Town Taxi Driving, with Chris as driver and Shannon as gaaitjie, under the tutelage of a talented Taxi Driver called Ibraheem. It was awesome.