Fix the system that issues driver permits before amending act
The spirit and intention of the amendments to the National Land Transport Act put forward by the transport ministry are to be commended. It is especially pleasing that they include ride-sharing and e-hailing operators and drivers as legitimate participants in the country’s public transport system, which points to the government’s willingness to embrace the changes and innovation taking place in the country’s transport industry.
However, there are aspects of the proposed amendments that are, at best, premature given that the necessary well-functioning systems and processes are not yet in place to make these regulatory changes viable.
Of particular concern are the significant penalties that will need to be paid by ridesharing and e-hailing companies whose independent operators are found to be transporting passengers without a legal permit issued by the relevant local authority.
These fines can be as high as R100,000 per driver operating without a permit.
Apart from being excessive, the penalty is grossly unfair given that a large number of local authorities don’t have functioning permit-issuing systems and processes in place. The truth is that the operating-permit issuance system in SA is broken.
The application and issuance processes for operating licences are fundamentally flawed and subject to extensive delays, sometimes of more than a year. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that it is very difficult for applicants whose permit applications haven’t been approved to get any explanation.
Uber has had extensive first-hand experience with this frustratingly slow process, with drivers often having to wait months and, in some cases more than a year, for their permits. Sadly, there appears to be no sense of urgency among local authorities to prioritise fixing the flawed systems and processes or to tackle the large, and growing, backlogs of permit applications.
As such, for the proposed stringent permit enforcement rules to be effective and fair to all roleplayers, the longstanding issues around permit issuance first need to be addressed. At the very least, before the proposed legislation amendments are implemented the national transport ministry needs to address the following:
● Efficient processes and systems must be put in place in all local authorities to allow drivers to easily apply for the permits they require.
● Service level agreements need to be put in place with local authorities whereby they are required to assess applications and issue permits within the 60-day period.
● Authorities need to be given deadlines by which their backlogs must be resolved to allow for faster processing of new permit applications once the transport act amendments are promulgated.
If the transport ministry implements the proposed legislation amendments before ensuring that these permit issuance challenges are addressed, many drivers will be faced with the difficult choice of either having to operate illegally while waiting for approved permits and risking significant fines and/or arrest, or stopping operations until they receive their permits, thereby losing what is, for many of them, their only source of income.
If the ministry is not able to address these challenges, it is only reasonable to ask it to reconsider this amendment and delay its implementation until the necessary infrastructure is in place to ensure they do not impact negatively on the country’s transport industry. The legislators must have been aware of the challenges of passing such a significant law, as the amendment bill allows for the minister to use his discretion to delay implementation of provisions for up to five years.
FINES CAN BE AS HIGH AS R100,000 FOR OPERATING WITHOUT A PERMIT. THIS IS UNFAIR AS THE OPERATINGPERMIT ISSUANCE SYSTEM IS BROKEN
Fair trade and healthy competition are the cornerstones of any effective and growing economy. However, some clauses, such as section 66 (7) and section 66 (A) of the bill, as well as the proposal that regulators be given authority to define the geographic locations or zones in which vehicles may operate, are contrary to the spirit of both.
As a good corporate citizen, Uber is committed to supplementing and enhancing SA’s national transport system and contributing positively to the industry. If passed into law without the revisions suggested above, these new amendments will limit our business and many others from playing the supportive roles we all can, and should, play to grow the SA transport and tourism industries, as well as many other key economic sectors.
What’s more, if passed as they currently stand, the amendments will prevent SA consumers from having full access to the range of convenient transport options they deserve, which has the potential to harm the reputation and credibility of the entire transport industry. ● Lits is Uber GM for sub-Saharan Africa.