Johannesburg - The sound of hooters filled the air in Newtown as metered taxi drivers from across the province prepared to march to the Gauteng department of roads and transport to voice their ongoing complaints about Uber.
The angry drivers from Johannesburg, Pretoria and Ekurhuleni planned to hand over a memorandum to the department’s MEC Ismail Vadi on Wednesday. They were demanding Vadi develop a protocol to govern the internet-based ride-sharing service.
‘New law won’t stop illegal Ubers’
William Mello, a driver for Maxi Taxi and the deputy chairman of a task team that was dealing with Uber-related issues on behalf of metered taxi drivers, said the department had failed them.
“We told the government, you can’t just tell us they’re here to stay. The government has to understand our industry is not a government tender. They have to consult. They have to come to us so we can negotiate. They can’t just come to us and tell us what to do,” he said.
Mello said one of their issues with Uber was around whether permits had been issued to its drivers and what type of permits they were.
“We’re going to tell Vadi it’s better to tell them that Uber mustn’t drive here at all, to keep the peace.”
Flanked by Johannesburg metro police officers, the protesters held posters reading “Uber must fall. Vadi must stop selling our jobs” and “F*** Uber”. The drivers demanded a response from the MEC within 14 days.