The radio station is calling its listeners to nominate their favourite taxi driver via SMS. Every week this month, one taxi driver will win a new Vodacom Kicka cellphone and R1,000 cash. The driver and listener who nominated him or her will also win R1,000 each from Vuma103FM. R10,000 worth of airtime will be given away on-air to Vodacom subscribers who nominated a taxi driver.
The first winner, Eric Nxumalo (Zwide), was thrilled to receive the prize saying it was the first competition he had ever won. Nxumalo, who works for the KwaNdengezi Taxi Association, was nominated by Makhosi Mbongwa from KwaNdengezi. Mbongwa said Nxumalo always abided by the rules of the road, respected his passengers and kept his vehicle clean which made the journey to and from Durban very pleasant. The next winner will be announced this Thursday.
Managing Executive for Vodacom KZN, Alberts Breed, said Vodacom was excited to be a part of this community-building initiative.
"With so many South Africans depending on commuter services, it is important that we honour those drivers who take pride in their jobs, so that they can be seen as examples other drivers aspire to."
This is one of several monthly campaigns run by Vuma103FM to reward their listeners.
"A lot of our listeners are commuters," said Vuma103FM Consumer Marketing Manager, Lydia Mtshali, explaining the drive behind the campaign. "There are a lot of good taxi drivers out there who don't get acknowledged so we thought this would be a good opportunity for drivers, who go beyond the call of duty for their passengers, to get some recognition."
Mtshali said they had been inundated with nominations from all over the province. "We've already received thousands of entries."
Three SMS entries are shortlisted each week and these "semi-finalists" are given the opportunity to explain why they nominated their particular driver. The winning entrant is called in the morning to share the story on-air. Later that day, the winning driver is announced and given 30 minutes to call the studio and claim his or her prize.
Vuma 103FM and Vodacom then surprise the taxi driver with an activation at his taxi rank, where his R1,000 and Vodacom Kicka Smart phone is handed over to him. This allows him to be acknowledged by his peers and passengers.
