The roads and transport department in Tshwane plans to engage the e-hailing sector soon on matters related to operating within the confines of the law in the metro.

Tshwane MMC for Roads and Transport Tlangi Mogale said the engagement session would allow for feedback regarding concerns about e-hailing vehicles being impounded by law enforcement.

According to Mogale, “The Roads and Transport Department will have a feedback session with the e-hailers next week, on a date and time to be confirmed. The Roads and Transport Department remains committed to resolving all issues concerning all public transport modes in the city and affirms the commitment to treat all e-hailing companies in the city fairly and create a conducive environment for them to operate within the ambit of the law.”

The engagement is behind the Department calling together e-hailing operators on December 12, 2024, at the Ou Raadsaal Council Chamber in Pretoria Central to discuss grievances among other matters.

In the meeting, drivers contested the daily impounding of their vehicles by law enforcement authorities, including the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD), Gauteng Department of Community Safety, and Road Traffic Management Corporation.

“The contentions along with the licensing backlogs has been escalated to the Provincial Crisis Committee on public transport operating licences to resolve. [One] of the resolutions of the meeting was to provide feedback on January 23, 2025, on some of the measures being put in place to resolve the impasse.

Instead of coming to the meeting to find solutions, the e-hailers decided to march to Tshwane House with political parties, Build One South African (BOSA) and the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK)-aligned civic movement, PCC, in an effort to politicise the matter.”

“We still urge the e-hailers not to allow political parties to hijack their genuine concerns as the city is working hand in hand with the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport to resolve the backlogs.

The provincial department has put measures in place as explained before. Operators had to send lists of those who are affected so that their issues could be looked at case by case and it is an ongoing process.”

Uber, Bolt & inDrive drivers are struggling to put food on the table!

Their vehicles are being impounded in Tshwane because of government’s failure to manage the permit process.

They’re forced to pay thousands to release their vehicles! Young South Africans abused by the state! pic.twitter.com/2bDP7jDV5j

— Ayanda Allie (@AyandaAllie) January 23, 2025

Mogale said she was committed to dealing with the challenges faced by the e-hailing community and other modes of transport in Tshwane’s jurisdiction.

She further affirms the commitment to treat all e-hailing companies in the city fairly and create a conducive environment for them to operate within the ambit of the law.

“One thing [is] for sure, anyone who conducts business and has our residents or commuters in their cars must produce an operating license. The safety of our residents comes first and so do our laws.”

On Wednesday, the TMPD impounded three of Wanatu’s vehicles for operating without permits.

This followed a series of posts by BOSA’s Ayanda Allie on X, asking whether Wanatu had operating permits from the municipality.

Morning Ayanda: please do note,

We discovered the Company recently and upon further investigation confirmed their operations last week. One of their vehicles was impounded.They sent their Lawyer to come and make representations to try and get the vehicle released.He could not… https://t.co/ZzIWxoG4YD

— Tlangi Mogale: MMC for Roads&Transport (@tlangimich) February 4, 2025

Rekord reached out to Wanatu for comment, but the e-hailing platform has not yet responded.

In a Facebook post, the e-hailing platform said, “Wanatu service delivery has been temporarily suspended due to the actions of TMPD, including the unlawful impounding of our vehicles and the intimidation of our drivers. We will be going to court.”

Also read: Several ‘Afrikaans Uber’ Wanatu vehicles impounded

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