I seriously thought it was one of those terms that will soon disappear. As wrong as I was, the term was kind of disrespectful the times I heard it being used in Tembisa and on social media.
Oh, let me explain what it means.
If you use a taxi, you must know by now that the two people who sit in front are responsible for collecting and making sure the money the passengers are supposed to pay for their trips is correctly counted. Everyone must be given their change, if there is any.
The driver expects this to be done as quickly as possible, and to be given the full load amount without shortages. This systems works well and at the same time, most passengers avoid the dreaded front seats. I do not know who came up with Taxi Maths, but I have my own theory and it goes something like this:
One day Joy took a taxi from Sangweni Taxi Rank, the biggest in Tembisa, to Alexandra. The only seat available on her arrival at the taxi rank was that in front, next to the driver.
Joy hardly used taxis as her boyfriend, Mandla, always took her anywhere she wanted to go. She was alarmed when told she had to co-count the money for the whole taxi, with the other passenger sitting next to her in front, close to the door. Joy is an educated young lady and did well in Maths at high school, so even though she was not amused by what she had been asked to do, she had no choice.
When sitting in front, the money comes in seats order, the first being the front seat Joy was sitting in followed by three up to the last four at the back.
I do not want to lie to you, it can overwhelm even Motsepe.
As the money came it, change was required for the passengers. Taxi Maths was taking shape in front of a live audience.
It that haze, Joy asked her co-counter how much the taxi fare was, as she wanted to pay for her seat as well. When she heard the amount, she realised the amount of change the passengers would need.
I bet she wanted to take off immediately. Well, some guy shouted that he is waiting for his change; yes passengers often don’t care. She shouted back, telling the guy to wait as she was still sorting it out.
No one could see her handing out change, the simply saw her fondling the money over and over again. Her co-counter was also not a cooperating fella. Joy failed dismally in allocating the correct change to the seats and the full load money was, in the end, short.
The taxi had to stop so the whole process could be done again, so as to determine the cause of the shortage. Passengers expressed their anger towards Joy, telling her to never sit in front again.
And just like that, Taxi Maths had murdered Joy, without asking for her permission.
See why most people hate the front seats?
