There are generally 2 types of taxis - those that trawl the busy routes (like the South Beach and North Beach taxis) and those that have fewer destinations and/or longer distances (like the LaLucia taxi or Howard College taxi). The first kind generally have conductors that hang out the window and attract attention to get as many passengers as possible - they also collect the money and issue change; and I presume they make a portion of the profits, hence the incentive to get as many passengers as possible. They gauge the fee according to point of pick up and drop off give or take a rand or two.
The second kind queue at their designated taxi rank (many are dotted around down town, like the Umlazi, Umhlanga Rocks, or Pinetown taxi ranks) and depart when the taxi is full with passengers. They are willing to stop along the way as per passenger requests, but because they are not likely to replace passengers at these random drop off spots, there is a set fee. So for instance, I pay R6 on the Howard College taxi to be dropped off just beyond St Augustine Hospital, but the driver doesn't usually collect other passengers along the way so I pay the same as the rest of the passengers going straight to Howard College.
In these second kind of taxis there are no conductors. Everyone hands there money forward once they're in the taxi, and take their own change where possible. So if you're near the driver and confident to take the money, people hand you a sum and say how many passengers it is for - such as "3 passengers" and a R20 note, or "4" and a handful of coins - and you have to give the change, and in your head tally how many passengers you've received money from...
3 x 6 = 18
4 x 6 = 24
...
Yesterday I sat in poll position, next to the taxi driver, and had to brush up on my 6 x tables! I was giving change, remembering how many passengers have paid, checking the total was correct and pretending like it was all cool. (I like maths when you have pen and paper, not the stuff you do in your head!)
