E-hailing drivers have embarked on their three-day protest against the various e-hailing companies operating within South Africa, causing commuters to scramble to make alternative plans amid a halt in services.
On Monday morning, e-hailing service commuters had to make alternative plans to get to work or school after the drivers of e-hailing firms started the protest. The drivers are calling for increased regulation of e-hailing services by the government.
A recent graduate from Auckland Park, Mihle Mathiso said a driver had been due to take her to Pretoria yesterday, along with family members, to buy items for her graduation this weekend.
“Now the Uber prices are three, if not four, times more expensive and Uber is scarce because of the strike. I had to ask my friend to fetch me and take me to Pretoria and I have to obviously pay for his petrol as well. It’s an inconvenience because he has his own things to do, so I have to wait for him,” she said.
A Ferndale resident, who asked to not be named, said she was informed by an Uber driver on Monday about the strike. The driver gave her a number to phone in case she needed to get around. She added that she had given the number to residents in her building.
Bevuya Kona from Boksburg said she used e-hailing cabs to travel from her house to the taxi rank. “The rank is not too far from me so I wasn’t too inconvenienced. I just had to leave the house earlier to walk to the rank,” she said.
Meanwhile, the protest kicked off in Pretoria where the drivers marched to the offices of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition to hand over a memorandum.
On Monday, Gauteng Transport MEC Jacob Mamabolo and officials from the department met with Unity in Diversity (UID), an action group representing a number of e-hailing driver partners.
The Gauteng Department of Transport said the meeting formed part of an ongoing mediation process between the office of the MEC, the department, UID as well as affected stakeholders. The process was instituted for the purpose of ventilating and mediating the dispute between the e-hailing driver partners and the e-hailing companies.
During the meeting, concerns were raised over safety and security. “UID assured the MEC that the protest will remain peaceful and has committed to prioritising safety and security by deploying additional marshals to the protest. The MEC accepted the assurances by UID,” the department and UID said in a joint statement on Tuesday morning.
The MEC emphasised the importance of mediation and negotiation and assured the parties that mediation will be concluded in the next three months.
“The parties are unanimous that the meeting was constructive and conducted in a collaborative manner. The parties also agreed to institutionalise regular engagements on matters of common interest,” the department and UID said.
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