Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment of Public Minibus Taxi Driving

In most developing countries, a significant percentage of households rely on public transport, specifically informal minibus taxis. In South Africa, this mode of transport is more regularly involved in road traffic accidents compared to other modes. However, very few studies have focused on analyzing driving in this transportation mode from the perception of the commuter. In this study, the analysis is carried out using qualitative (questionnaires) and quantitative (speed and acceleration) data with the aim of finding factors that characterize public transportation drivers, specifically understanding how minibus taxi drivers differ from other drivers and how the regulatory environment influences their on-road behavior. The personality and skills of the drivers are shown to be the two main factors to analyze. It is shown that minibus taxi drivers perform lower than ride-hailing drivers. In addition, their driving is more aggressive in a controlled environment, while it is more reckless in an uncontrolled environment. Cultural, training, and technology-oriented actions are suggested to improve the on-road driving of the minibus taxi in the chosen study area.