Johannesburg -
Samson Ndebele* was lost in thought as he drove his customer home. Now that he had cash in his pockets, the Uber driver had another worry: gangsters preying on him.
“When gangsters are targeting us, they'll know we have something. It's not safe,” said Ndebele, who has worked for Uber in Joburg for the past six months.
Late shifts are his biggest concern.
“This is especially so when we have to drive around at night. That's when the thieves will strike.”
This week, the ride-sharing service launched its new experimental cash payment service across South Africa, together with its existing credit card system.
But some Uber drivers, like Ndebele, were more concerned about “violence and threats” from minibus taxi associations, as well as criminals.
Last week, metered taxi drivers attacked an Uber driver near the Sandton Gautrain station. Fortunately, the driver and his passenger escaped unharmed.
Tensions have escalated between taxi operators and Uber drivers since the US-based technology company launched locally in 2013, with taxi operators demanding the termination of the online transportation company.
To address the fears of its drivers, Uber South Africa encouraged them this week to “make regular deposits and keep as little cash on them as possible”.
But that was not enough for another fearful driver, Mandla Dlamini*.
“They mustn't apply it (cash payments),” he said, adamantly. “Taxi drivers have started to fight with us.”
He claimed Uber was not concerned about its drivers’ safety. “Uber, they don't care. They sit there in their office with security always alert, but for us there is nothing.”
For some, like Thabiso Moloyi*, minibus taxi drivers were still the biggest threat.
“The minibus taxi drivers are going to lose customers and we know these guys. They don't negotiate,” he said.
This was because the cash service would appeal to potential customers in regions such as Hillbrow, Berea and the Joburg CDB - areas where the minibus taxi industry now thrived.
But Alon Lits, the general manager of Uber South Africa, did not foresee any conflict over competition between the two passenger services.
“We believe we offer both riders and driver-partners something different,” said Lits, suggesting Uber’s service and the minibus taxi industry “are not competing within the same market”.
Lits said Uber monitored “suspicious profiles” and that certain mechanisms have been put in place to ensure the safety of drivers, when customers themselves refused to pay.
“We do take on that risk but we have informed drivers to not escalate the situation by getting involved in arguments with customers who refuse to pay.”
Still, one apprehensive driver, Kabelo Motaung*, emphasised that when drivers had raised concerns with the firm's management, “we were answered with success stories” of the cash payment system elsewhere.
“Nairobi and Singapore are not like South Africa. Here you will put other people's lives in danger with this cash payment.”
Uber South Africa's drivers, said Lits, had constant and instant access to an emergency service number “they can call if they are ever in distress”.
But Moloyi was unimpressed. “Since they introduced this, we don't know what will happen. We are worried. We are not safe.”
*Not their real names
Saturday Star