A RIDE TO REMEMBER

He started out with one passenger in his taxi and ended up with two!

- MAXINE PETERS

IT WAS supposed to be a regular fare for Johannesburg taxi-cab driver Maqawe “Mike” Mpabanga – instead it turned into an unforgettable experience for him and his female passenger.

The woman went into labour as he was driving her to hospital and Mike had to pull over and help deliver her baby.

“It was an extraordinary experience,” he tells YOU. And it meant the world to the woman and her husband, who asked him to name their newborn.

Mike (43) started his own transport business in 2013, doing transfers and tours for international study groups. He found himself in a jam when lockdown hit last year and business came to a standstill. To support his family, the father of two signed up to be a driver for an e-hailing service.

He’d been working with the service for a few months when he got the call that would change his life. It was just after 9pm and after a long day’s work, Mike almost didn’t respond to the call.

“But I also knew that a request at that hour might mean someone is desperate or really needs a lift somewhere,” he says.