Vehicle on fire in Pretoria yesterday not registered on Uber app
Uber said it was doing all it could to provide assistance to drivers and passengers.
@Abramjee tweeted this photo of a car on fire. According to the information the social cohesion activist had obtained, it was alleged to be an Uber vehicle. Picture: @Abramjee on Twitter
Following the allegations circulating on social media yesterday that a vehicle, believed to be an Uber was set alight, Uber has stated the vehicle is not registered on the Uber app.
However, Uber Africa spokesperson Samantha Allenberg said: “Any situation where safety is put at risk is absolutely unacceptable to us.”
She further stated that drivers using the Uber app had access to a local emergency line that could be used when they felt unsafe.
“We have also recently partnered with multiple security response services that are able to dispatch security and medical services in emergency situations. We have also hired additional security response teams in areas where our driver partners and riders have reported intimidation,” said Allenberg.
“We are doing all we can to assist in preventing incidents and provide assistance to driver-partners and riders, but we cannot do this alone – authorities and policy makers need to take a stronger stand to help prevent and condemn these terrible crimes.”
Tuesday afternoon
It appears that violence has been sparked in Pretoria yesterday afternoon, with allegations that a vehicle was petrol bombed in Hatfield and at least one other damaged in Centurion.
This is according to a tweet by social cohesion advocate Yusuf Abramjee, which further stated that an unconfirmed report suggested it was an Uber vehicle that had been set alight in an alleged “taxi war” incident.
Vehicle apparently petrol bombed in Hatfield Pretoria. Taxi warfare. Unconfirmed report says it's an Uber car. @ismailvadi pic.twitter.com/WHRWE0IxsB
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) July 4, 2017
Later, he tweeted that allegedly the Uber driver had been “hijacked” and “beaten up”.
This @Uber_RSA was hijacked and he driver beaten up. The car was set alight in Hatfield. pic.twitter.com/CcD6gm9eHw
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) July 4, 2017
Uber SA replied to his tweet, expressing concern and asking for more information.
https://twitter.com/Uber_RSA/status/882236387101220864
In his series of tweets on the alleged violence this afternoon, Abramjee stated that five cars had been damaged in Centurion in the alleged “taxi war”.
Centurion: 5 cars damaged. Also taxi war.
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) July 4, 2017
Abramjee also tweeted a photo of a car with smashed windows, alleging that it was an Uber vehicle that had been damaged in Centurion. The alleged perpetrators were metered taxi drivers, according to Abramjee.
Uber vehicle damaged in Centurion apparently by metered-taxis pic.twitter.com/vD7QLbXJAj
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) July 4, 2017
Abramjee tweeted that intervention was needed to maintain law and order in this alleged “war between metered taxis and Uber”.
Law enforcement agencies need to intervene urgently and stop the war between metered taxis and @Uber_RSA – @MbalulaFikile @ismailvadi pic.twitter.com/sl6paBpv6s
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) July 4, 2017
In June, two other incidents of cars being set on fire were reported in Pretoria.
An Uber driver sustained serious injuries after his car was set alight in the east of Pretoria on June 9, the Centurion Rekord reported.
According to reports, the alleged attack came amid ongoing clashes between Uber drivers and metered taxi drivers.
Uber SA said in a statement: “One of our driver-partners was in [Hatfield] Pretoria when he was attacked by a small group of unknown individuals.
“His car was set alight while he was in the vehicle.”
At the time, the company said the driver was receiving treatment in hospital.
Later in the month, on June 27, the Centurion Rekord further reported that a video showing a vehicle engulfed in flames in Sunnyside had gone viral and that it was believed that the vehicle was petrol-bombed.
The footage was posted to social media and shows the vehicle moving backward toward traffic.
Police could not immediately confirm that the vehicle set on fire was, in fact, an Uber taxi. The Rosebank Killarney Gazette contacted Uber after social media reports stated that vehicle in question was an Uber taxi and Uber confirmed that it was not one of their vehicles and that this incident was not related to them.
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