Diversity, Technology and the Predatory Transformation of Traditional Taxicab Enterprising in Zimbabwe

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of diversity and technology on the operations of the traditional 
taxicab sector in Zimbabwe, highlighting the costs involved, the administrative concerns and the 
future prospects of this vital economic sector. Leveraging on case study and phenomenology 
research designs, convenience and purposive sampling of the taxicab sector’s stakeholders such as 
taxicab operators, users, public officials, law enforcement and traffic safety agents, the study 
obtained data from interviews with stakeholders, document analysis, personal observations, and 
experience. It identified consumer appetite for diversity in intra-city shuttle service, the desire for 
efficient, cost-effective, user-friendly and convenient shuttle service, enhanced safety for both the 
users and the operators, Vision 2030 national policy drive, and the quest to move with the times 
as the major spurs for the taxicab market’s transformation. It also highlighted piracy, the demise 
of traditional taxicab’s modus operandi, declined profits for traditional taxicab operators, 
administrative corruption, a dire situation for techno-phobia and computer skills-deprived 
traditional taxicab operators as being among the major predatory effects of diversity and 
technology on traditional taxicab enterprising in contemporary Zimbabwe. The study recommends 
the enactment of legal administrative instruments for the purpose of saving and safeguarding the 
traditional taxicab industry from the effects of an uncontrolled diversity and technology driven 
transformation. It also urges the traditional industry taxicab to urgently adopt technology and to 
also unionise in order to safeguard its market. The study both advances the body of knowledge on 
this vital economic sector, and provides useful data for researchers, investors and public officials.