Two books examining South Africa’s minibus taxi industry argue that efforts to understand and reform the sector must recognize the knowledge created by the people who operate and use it. The research explores formalization, labor conditions, regulation, governance, violence, mobility, and social justice, while challenging descriptions of the industry as simply “informal,” “unregulated,” or “disorganized.” Drivers understand routes and passenger patterns; marshals manage ranks and queues; operators navigate economic pressures; and commuters know where transport systems succeed or fail. The argument is not that lived experience should replace technical or government expertise, but that it should be treated as a legitimate source of knowledge. Drawing on African philosophy, including ubuntu, the books argue that South African and African realities can generate their own theoretical frameworks rather than simply absorbing ideas developed elsewhere.