Johannesburg - It is a small group of metered taxi drivers who are attacking Uber cabs and causing chaos.
On Thursday night, violent clashes erupted in Sandton when two Uber cars were petrol-bombed, allegedly by metered taxi drivers, near the Gautrain Station.
Furious Uber drivers then retaliated and moved around Sandton attacking stationary metered taxis and those moving past the area.
At least one metered taxi was torched near the Sandton Convention Centre.
A fourth car also had its windows smashed in the confrontations in the Sandton. No injuries were reported.
But the metered taxi drivers say all the majority of them want is to make a living.
*Amos Maluleka, who operates near OR Tambo International Airport, condemned the violence.
“There are a small number of drivers giving us all a bad name. If anything they have made the situation worse and customers are now more hesitant to use us because they think we are all violent.”
He believed the violent incident on Thursday would do nothing to solve the long-standing conflict between Uber and metered taxi drivers.
“An Uber driver was burnt with acid and another killed in Pretoria. Some of these people are our cousins and brothers.
“It’s unfortunate that some of our colleagues think that since government is not getting involved, it’s okay to shed some blood so that they can take notice.”
Maluleka said the government needed to intervene urgently before the situation worsened.
“The feud between Uber drivers and metered drivers can only end if the government steps in.
“The government needs to understand that Uber came into the country and started operating without being regulated,” adde Maluleka.
“No one can come into your yard without you knowing who they are or where they come from and then start living with you. It’s just not fair.”
*Isaac Mahlangu is another metered taxi driver who has condemned the violence. “Some of the Uber drivers are actually former metered taxi drivers. They are our brothers. Regulation on Uber should be done quickly because this feud is making us kill each other.”
Mahlangu blamed the government for failing to regulate Uber. “One of our biggest issues with Uber is that government allowed them to come in and take a big stake in our business without regulating them.”
We can’t get those clients back, we can’t feed our families like we used to. We hardly get any business today and we are suffering as a result.”
Uber drivers have also condemned the violence, and have lashed out at their employers for failing to protect them from the violence by metered taxi drivers.
“Uber doesn’t look after me when I’m being intimidated, because they don’t care about my safety,” said Uber driver Abel Nkosi.
“The only thing they care about is getting their 20% from every trip. In the media, they tell everyone that they protect their drivers, they are lying.
“They have never protected us.”
Nkosi labelled metered tax riders as “heartless” after Thursday night’s incident.
“They are taking advantage of us because we don’t retaliate with any violence. So they think they can do whatever they want to. The government needs to implement law enforcement immediately, because all this is happening in front of police officers and they do nothing about it. They just watch on without doing anything.
“I haven’t heard of anyone being prosecuted for all this violence but it’s happening on a daily basis.”
*Vusumuzi Tshabalala, another Uber driver, said that the government need to shut down Uber and metered taxi drivers for a short period until they reached an agreement with each another.
“If they shut them down for about two weeks or a month, then perhaps they will be more willing to work with one another and sort out what issues they have with each other,” said
Tshabalala.
“Because right now it looks like nothing is working.”
Uber on Friday launched a petition to counter the violence against its drivers.
The company said: “Uber calls on South Africans to come together to sign the petition in order to tell Transport Minister Joe Maswanganyi and Police Minister Fikile Mbalula that they need to work for the citizens of this country and ensure Uber driver-partners can continue to earn a living without fear, and consumers can choose how and with whom they travel.”
* Not their real names