Durban taxi conductors fired for being rude and smelly

The South and North Beach Taxi Association has fired all conductors for bad behaviour towards commuters‚ poor hygiene‚ overloading vehicles and involvement in criminal activities.

In a post on its official Facebook page on Thursday‚ the association advised commuters boarding taxis operating along Durban's Golden Mile to pay the exact fare as conductors would no longer be on board to provide change.

"Be advised that all the conductors have been dismissed as from today‚ November 1. We have hired some of the conductors to be rank marshals‚" the association said.

A month ago‚ the association announced that it would be "taking conductors out of operation due to an "endless list of reasons."

Those reasons included the conductors being rude to commuters.

"Some of them are involved in criminal activities. They are the reason for most taxis to overload‚" it said.

Two weeks ago‚ the association embarked on a test drive without conductors before the final axe fell on Thursday.

While commuters often complain about conductors‚ they were sympathetic towards them on Thursday.

Some questioned the association on who would open and close the vehicle's door. Others asked how the driver would collect taxi fares while behind the steering wheel.

However‚ most commuters were concerned that the conductors had lost their jobs.

USandile Umngan Wakho commented on the Facebook post: "Please do not retrench them. Rather teach them to respect and bath because they dealing with people they need to be tidy. Some of them are feeding families and have kids they taking care of so don't retrench them but teach them respect and tidiness."