For many South African parents, sending children to school is a daily source of anxiety. An issue that Taxini, the innovative taxi app founded by Thabo Mwale, Sydney Malapela and Sibongiseni Kunene, is working to solve. “Every day, thousands of children rely on taxis to get to school, but there’s very limited visibility or monitoring of these journeys,” the co-founders explained.
“We wanted to create a system that gives parents peace of mind while keeping children safe on the road.” The solution is a dedicated scholar transport feature of the Taxini app, designed to track pick-ups, drop-offs and driving behaviour in real time. Parents can now see exactly when and where their children are being transported, while schools can monitor compliance and safety standards. Implementing scholar transport safety solutions hasn’t been without challenges.
Funding and infrastructure remain significant hurdles, and scaling the system requires collaboration with both the private and public sectors. But the Taxini team believes that with government support, this solution could eventually become a nationally supported scholar transport system, transforming daily school runs across the country. Beyond safety, the app also uses a review and rating system to encourage positive behaviour among drivers.
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Parents and passengers can rate drivers for professionalism, calm driving and respectful communication, helping to create a culture of accountability. Even small gestures, like a polite greeting, can earn a taxi driver a five-star rating. “We’re building solutions that directly improve people’s lives,” the founders said. “Scholar transport is one of the most important areas where we can make a real difference.” As parents increasingly demand safe, reliable and transparent transport for their children, Taxini is leading the way with innovation that blends tech, accountability, and real-world problem-solving one school run at a time.
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