The Killer Quantums Stalking SA's Roads

Toyota and authorities knew for three years about unsafe jerry-rigged taxis, but did nothing to stop the carnage.

- Susan Puren

If you know what to look for you will spot them all over South Africa: Toyota Quantum fake mini-bus taxis which are actually illegally converted Toyota Quantum panel vans that were designed to carry goods, not passengers.

Somehow, with official sanction, these vans have bypassed the safety standards and specifications that are compulsory for any passenger vehicles licensed to drive on South Africa’s roads. Since 2005 millions of commuters have used these death-trap taxis for transport, oblivious to the dangers they posed. Sadly, many did not complete their journeys.

The chief culprit is the South African government along with the Department of Transport’s vehicle licensing authority – and multi-national conglomerate Toyota, the world’s third-biggest motor manufacturer.

Aware that the illegal conversions broke the law, Toyota South Africa, while warning their dealers about this, nevertheless told them how they might get around the problem and continue selling vans for conversion to taxis while avoiding liability (See Noseweek’s website for a copy of Toyota’s official notification).

Then there are the banks that put up the money for the taxi recapitalisation programme and then opportunistically funded the scam-taxis as well.

The owners of the converted taxis believed they were buying safe, recapitalised Quantum taxis.

The immense regulatory failure of oversight would have gone unnoticed or been swept under the carpet were it not for one man’s perseverance.