Local rival to Uber has a stormy reception
● SA’s electronic ride-hailing industry changed lanes this week when taxi drivers began to reclaim their share of the pie with their own company.
The arrival of Yo! Taxi! — with its colourfully branded vehicles and enthusiastic, uniformed drivers — prompted a protest by rival e-hailing drivers, who accused the newcomer of intimidation.
Mark Simon, who heads the information technology company Helium 3 Digital, which designed the Yo! Taxi! app, told the Sunday Times that allegations that Yo! Taxi! drivers had intimidated other e-hailing drivers and tried to buy them off were completely unfounded.
“Basically, what we said to them is we’re operating Yo! Taxi!, all vehicles [have permits] and are legal. If you want to join us, there’s a joining fee of R5,000, [which] includes a uniform, training, mobile and vehicle branding. That was it, so there was no extortion.”
He said there was a service-level agreement between himself and 12 taxi associations to pilot Yo! Taxi! in Durban.
The taxi associations include Chesterville, Cato Manor, Cato Crest, Bonella, Sydenham, Overport, Musgrave, Umgeni liner, Durban Station, Umhlanga and Austwent. Some of the associations represent metered taxi companies.
The vehicles are registered in Simon’s name, however.
“SA needs to grow its economy and the best way to do that is to support local businesses rather than international companies that eat up our economy. Yo! Taxi! hopes to do this,” he said.
“A lot of the industry guys were shutting down due to infiltration by Uber and Taxify, and remember those are not legally permitted cars. So anybody with a vehicle could sign up and start taking passengers around but ultimately, as per the Transport Act, you can’t ferry customers without a professional driving permit (PDP),” said Simon.
Sam James, a shareholder in Yo! Taxi! and a member of the Sydenham Taxi Association, said the department of transport should provide answers as to whether e-hailing operators fall in line with the National Land Transport Act (NLTA).
“How do these companies come here from overseas and dictate our laws? Because if they are not in line with the NLTA, the department of transport must tell us that the act is now null and void.”
KwaZulu-Natal transport spokesperson Kwanele Ncalane said that the government is still working on regulating the e-hailing industry.
“The current regulations are talking to meter taxis, whereas when you deal with ehailing it’s a bit more complicated because you are dealing with software as opposed to a vehicle,” said Ncalane.
He confirmed it was a legal requirement for such a driver to have a PDP.
Ncalane said the department was against any form of intimidation or threats of violence in the industry.
“If others are entering into that competition space, that should be accepted, that should be allowed — they must all find a space to exist harmoniously,” he said.
An Uber spokesperson told the Sunday Times that the introduction of new services and choices was good for consumers and competition encourages better value and helps raise quality standards.
“However, threats and intimidation against people who want to use the Uber app must be condemned.
“We are aware that a handful of e-hailing drivers protested in Durban on Tuesday. We respect driver-partners as valuable partners with a voice and a choice, and we want driver-partners to feel they can talk to us about anything at any time. However, illegal protests that cause any disruptions to the public are unacceptable and go against our community guidelines,” the company said.
Bolt, formerly Taxify, said it was aware of recent reports about friction between meter taxi drivers and ride-hailing drivers in KwaZulu-Natal. “Bolt is proactively engaging with the South African Police Service and other stakeholders in the region to promote an environment of fair competition and safety,” said Bolt SA manager Gareth Taylor.
eThekwini metro police spokesperson Senior Supt Parboo Sewpersad said the city had received no reports of incidents of intimidation following the launch of the new company.