Government condemns taxi blockade over e-hailing protest in Pietermaritzburg

Drivers who spoke to Capital Newspapers yesterday say that Uber and Bolt are operating unfairly as they do not have licenses, are unregulated and are undercutting industry prices.

The protest began as early as 06:30, with taxis blocking key routes including Dr Chota Motala Road, Langalibalele Street, Chapel Street, Chatterton Road, Victoria Road, Boshoff Street, Boom Street, the N3 freeway and Greyling Street.

One Bolt driver said he could not understand how e-hailing drivers would be able to access permits.

“We don’t have permits but we are allowed to work everywhere. We don’t have a designated route that we are supposed to operate in. The taxi people want us to have a route which we will operate in but this is not possible,” he said.

An Uber driver, who also asked not to be named, said the taxi operators want them to stop transporting children to school.

“We have been receiving lots of calls from clients wanting to use our services but we are unable to get to them. We missed the morning rush which means no money for us today. We are very much disturbed by this. They want us to get permits from the Department of Transport which we don’t understand how we will get them since we operate via e-hailing services. We are still shocked as we didn’t even know this was going to happen,” he said.

Yesterday’s protest had a huge impact on businesses throughout the city with many of them unable to operate without staff who were delayed in the congestion. Some commuters were forced to walk to work.

“I am fuming and also tired. I wasn’t prepared for this long walk early in the morning. I don’t understand why taxi people have an issue with Uber and Bolt drivers because they don’t operate on a 24-hour basis. This is insane. Getting to work this morning was a mission. I got to work at 10:00 while I’m required to report for duty at 08:00. My boss understood because the roads were blocked everywhere and I also reported to him that I’ll be late for work,” said a commuter from Scottsville.

South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) regional chairperson, Bheki Sokhela, said there are lots of Ubers and Bolts, and meter taxis operating illegally. He said no cars are allowed to operate as a taxi without permits.

“Ubers and Bolts operate without permits as they please. Yet we only know of meter taxis which are regulated and have permits so we don’t see the need for Ubers and Bolts. We are tired of them because they operate illegally. They operate using an app which is not a permit. There is no need for them to get permits because already there are meter taxis.

“Our municipality is not allowing us to have additional permit applications because it’s full. If they are allowed to get permits, where are they going to operate since we are told there is no place to park in Pietermaritzburg? We will have competition on our routes that we have registered for,” said Sokhela. Sokhela said commuters should use meter taxis as they operate 24-hours a day and have permits.

Msunduzi Municipality Mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla said the government would not condone the disruptions caused to commuters and the economy, adding the protest was unfortunate given that a meeting with Santaco had been planned.

“Everyone with a business must operate legally. Regarding concerns raised by Santaco, we will meet with the Department of Transport to discuss them and find a way forward. We condemn the disruption of innocent people’s lives just because of problems in businesses. If people are not satisfied about certain issues, they must find other means which will not disturb people who are not involved.

“We are happy that we were able to hold talks with the industry today that allowed for the protest to be suspended. We will continue engaging with all stakeholders in the matter,” said Mayor Thebolla.