Rage taxis and Uber clash

Matrics in Ballito for the annual Rage festival have found themselves caught in an ugly dispute between local taxis and Uber cabs over the right to transport them to and from Rage parties.

Last Friday 18-year-old Phillippa Hill was travelling to a Rage Festival party, the Litchi Party near Compensation, in an Uber taxi when her Uber cab driver was stopped and intimidated, allegedly by members of the Dolphin Coast Taxi Association (DCTA).

Phillippa, who lives in Salt Rock with her parents, said a taxi driver stopped the Uber driver she was travelling with, forced her out of the vehicle so she had to walk and then aggressively followed her when she got back in the cab in an attempt to escape.

She said the experience was “so scary” and she was shocked at the audacity of the taxi driver.

According to the girl’s mother, Janine Hill, a ride that should have cost her daughter R17 ended up costing her R59 because of the way in which she and her cab driver were pursued by the taxi.

“This is completely unacceptable and we have reported the incident to the Rage organisers because it risks the safety of the kids,” said Hill, who added that since Friday’s incident, not one Uber cab was available for hire.

Hill also said that many young people opt for Uber because of its proven safety and reliability record and due to the high fares charged by local taxis.

“The regular taxis are expensive for these kids – one trip between La Montagne and Little Maritzburg Road in Salt Rock cost my daughter and her friends R60 each, which they just cannot afford every time they need a lift.”

This incident is not an isolated one, however, as another Uber driver was allegedly threatened with hockey sticks by a group of taxi drivers near Umhlali.

Marc Forest, an Uber partner who owns three cabs in the Dolphin Coast area, said that he suspects the problems arose because many DCTA taxis have been branded with the Rage logo for the duration of the festival and have been issued contracts by the municipality to transport party-goers to and from venues.

“The taxis have been contracted to pick up and drop off people at specific locations between Ballito and Umhlanga. I cannot understand why there is an issue because Uber offers people the option of going to any location, so there should not be any conflict,” said Forest.

This did not mean, however, that the DCTA had sole rights to transport people during the Rage period.

Public relations officer for the DCTA, Mdu Tony, denied the allegations against them but confirmed that they were unhappy with Uber “stealing their clients”.

Tony said they had been granted the contract to transport passengers during the week of Rage after months of negotiations with the festival organisers.

Darren Sandras, director of One-Eyed Jack, the public relations firm for the Rage Festival, said a meeting was held on Sunday between the festival organisers and the DCTA to resolve the issues with private cabs operating in the area and no further incidents had since taken place.

“Uber has been removed as a partner of the festival, and while they are allowed to pick up and drop off passengers, they may not intercept routes the DCTA have been allocated,” said Sandras.

He added that Uber cabs are still available for people to hire in their private capacity, but Uber is not associated with Rage in any way.

Acting station commander at Umhlali police station, Colonel Pappya, said that Umhlali SAPS are aware of the growing tensions between taxis and Uber drivers, but no formal incidents had been reported.

“We are aware that these incidents are occurring and it seems like a lack of communication has led to them taking place as the taxis feel entitled to the routes during Rage,” said Pappya, who encouraged all victims of intimidation to come forward so that the police could offer them protection and follow up on their reports.

Viva Security have also offered security to Uber drivers in Ballito over the course of the week in an effort to prevent further incidents.

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