THEY call them many names, depending where you live.
‘Oscabha’, sliding door operators (SDOs) or conductors are all names used to refer to people who collect money from taxi commuters.
Most often commuters describe them as being a ‘menace’.
Over the years articles have been published reporting their alleged verbal abuse of commuters.
But there seems to be a new breed of conductors at KingDinuZulu – a more respectful kind compared to other areas.
We caught up with one of the SDOs, 20-year-old Sibusiso Gcobo. Popularly known as Kutuza, he dropped out in Grade 10 at Gawuzi High School and tried to find work, other than crime to make money.
Refusing to be a burden at home, he became a SDO. Kutuza started in 2008 and believes he can make a success of his life.
He values the importance of education and urges young people to continue with their studies. With his ambition of becoming a taxi owner, Kutuza is saving up and admits success comes with patience.
People may not see him as important now, but this young man has a dream and aims to attain it.
With stereotyping attached to this kind of job, the KingDinuzulu sliding door operators aim to change the negative mindset.
At the end of the day, these young men are hard workers. They wake up in the early hours of the morning and end the day when most are already comfortably at home.
They are the mathematicians of the township, the caregivers to the old and daycare support to the young. Without them, the taxi experience would just not be the same.
