" E-hailing drivers want legislative intervention" 6 June 2023

E-hailing drivers and operators of Uber, Bolt and inDrive are urging president Cyril Ramaphosa to sign the National Land Transport Amendment Bill into law.

This, amid the escalating spate of hijackings at the hands of criminals posing as e-hailing riders. Almost 7 000 drivers have signed an online petition on Change.org, urging government to speed up the process of enacting the Bill, which has not seen much progress since it was passed by Parliament in 2020. The Bill stipulates that e-hailing companies must introduce strict vetting procedures to ensure drivers and riders don’t participate in criminality while using e-hailing apps. It also ensures e-hailing firms are subject to relevant transport regulations, and will pay fair wages and provide better working conditions for all drivers and operators.

In the petition, e-hailing drivers and operators are demanding government to intervene in their plight to create a safer industry, by primarily beefing up in-app security and ensuring stringent customer on-boarding processes. While the e-hailing industry is no stranger to violence, there has been a fresh increase in hijackings and robberies targeted at e-hailing vehicles. Last month, three e-hailing drivers were reportedly killed during robbery and hijacking incidents. The petition, started by Melithemba Mnguni, secretary of the e-Hailing Partners Council, reads: “For too long e-hailing giants like Uber, inDrive and Bolt have continued to operate unregulated. They are not held accountable for the safety of their drivers or passengers, for that matter.

“As things stand, Uber and Bolt have no legal obligation to protect their drivers or passengers. They are not accountable for allowing criminals onto their platform.” Mnguni is the brother of the late Bolt driver and law graduate Euston Mnguni, who was murdered in March by criminals masquerading as riders. Mnguni tells ITWeb the petition will be submitted to the e-hailing app companies and government, in due time.

“This year alone, we have an estimate of more than 50 e-hailing drivers who have died in the line of duty. The Transport Amendment Bill will address the legitimacy of e-hailing. It will officially introduce e-hailing into the transport ecosystem, therefore enabling co-existence with other transport counterparts. “It will also enable regulations that will hold app companies to account through compliance.”