What do hand signals to minibus taxis mean in South Africa?
In South Africa, people standing by the road use hand signals to say where they want to go. One raised index finger means the city centre; a finger pointing down means a nearby local area; a fist moving up and down mimics the motion of a train and signals the station; four raised fingers mean Fourways; and an open hand with all five fingers can call a minibus heading to Rosebank or a transfer point.
Minibuses follow set routes, but they also stop for passengers along the road, so the shape of a hand becomes a short language of destinations.
This silent language was developed by commuters when public transport was not enough, and it is still used on daily commutes as something often described as South Africa's "12th official language".
