Getting out of Johannesburg gridlock

“People call our tuk tuks ‘toy cars,’” says Johannesburg driver Alan Bangi as he waits for a fare at a Sandton intersection. (Photo by Darren Taylor)

Bangi navigates the streets of Africa’s commercial hub at a bracing maximum speed of 35 miles per hour, offering door-to-door service. (Photo by Darren Taylor)

A small fleet of blue Shesha Tuks – advertising a local Standard Bank - await the call of the dispatcher at the company’s Johannesburg office. (Photo by Darren Taylor)

Bruce Cowie, Shesha Tuks managing director, demonstrates passenger seating. He hires experienced drivers from countries such as Malawi and Congo where tuk tuks have a long history. (Photo by Darren Taylor)

As a driver, Bangi brags the little tuk tuk is light on fuel. One regular passenger pays 15 rand for a ride to work in a tuk tuk. A metered taxi would cost her 100 rand. (Photo by Darren Taylor)

Johannesburg’s notorious minibuses don’t like stiff competition from the cheaper tuk tuks so the little ‘buzzing bees’ avoid turf battles by limiting their territory. (Photo by Darren Taylor)