'A local ride-hailing service can’t beat Uber and Bolt, so its drivers are beating up their rivals’ 21 October 2024

… Shesha is a ride-hailing company that was launched in South Africa in May as a fair-minded local competitor to Western companies Uber and Bolt. Just five months in, however, according to local media reports as well as Rest of World’s interviews with drivers and union leaders, Shesha has acquired an ugly reputation for using intimidation to coerce drivers and passengers to join its app. Shesha was started by two unions for South Africa’s traditional minibus drivers: the South Africa National Taxi Council (Santaco) and the National Taxi Alliance (NTA). “Shesha” means “hurry up” in Zulu. “Shesha app is an indigenous e-hailing app that is established to address the historical conflict between the taxi industry and Bolt/Uber, who currently dominate the business,” Theo Malele, a spokesperson for the NTA, told Rest of World.

… At its launch, Shesha announced that 3,000 people had signed up to drive for the platform. The company promised to allocate 10% of its shares to a drivers’ trust for medical aid, pensions, and provident funds. The app also included a fingerprint ID system to screen fake profiles and criminal backgrounds — a desirable measure in South Africa, where there have been cases of Uber and Bolt drivers robbing, raping, and killing passengers. The provident funds have not materialized, however, and the fingerprint ID system is not fully functional, according to drivers who have attempted to switch to the app. To gain users, the taxi unions have resorted to violence, Uber and Bolt drivers told Rest of World. In the past five months, groups of people working for the Shesha app, who call themselves “taxi patrollers,” have illegally zoned off large sections of city streets, including transport hubs like Pretoria’s Bosman Station, to keep out Uber and Bolt drivers.

… Spokesperson Rebecca Phala told Rest of World that imposters, criminals, and wayward taxi operators are pretending to be vigilantes for Shesha. The company is enforcing internal disciplinary measures, she said, but did not give further details. “These acts are not sanctioned by Shesha as a company. Shesha’s objective is to enter the market and grow organically,” Phala said. Bolt did not confirm reports of harassment against its drivers, citing privacy reasons. Uber did not respond to requests for comment. The E-Hailing Partners Council reported the violence to the Gauteng provincial police, but “not much was done,” Mathebula said.