- President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the National Land Transport Amendment Bill into law last week.
- According to the bill, e-hailing drivers must apply for operating licences like other modes of public transport.
- Both Bolt and Uber have praised the signing of the bill to officially recognise the industry, but one driver’s association is sceptical about better relations with taxis.
- For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page.
Popular e-hailing platforms, including Bolt and Uber, have welcomed the introduction of compulsory operating licences for their drivers, as way of providing legal clarity for their operations going forward.
This comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the National Land Transport Amendment Bill into law last week, meaning the industry will have guidelines for e-hailing services after more than a decade.
According to the bill, e-hailing drivers must apply for national operating licences, similar to minibus taxis, for their services. Previously, drivers were required to apply for charter permits and meter-taxi operating licences.
Bolt’s acting head of regulatory and policy in Africa, Weyinmi Aghadiuno, said the law was a “significant development” to address challenges within the e-hailing industry.
“Bolt is excited about this new legislation’s clarity and stability for the ride-hailing industry. We look forward to working closely with regulatory authorities to ensure a seamless transition and to continue offering safe, reliable, and efficient transport solutions to South Africans,” he said in a statement.
READ | Bolt has been blocking 1 000 drivers a month in SA over safety concerns, noncompliance
Meanwhile, Uber said the signing of the bill was “a step in the right direction”.
A spokesperson said in written correspondence:
The passing of the National Land Transport Amendment Bill is a step in the right direction in many respects, including the recognition of e-hailing as distinct from other forms of transport. We await more details of how the newly amended legislation will be implemented, including the publication of regulations specific to e-hailing. In the meantime, we are working with transport regulators at national, provincial, and local levels to help ensure that drivers continue to have access to flexible earning opportunities.
The Department of Transport has said the new legislation would end the 13-year wait for guidelines for e-hailing services.
The department is currently developing guidelines for introducing the act, including the operating licences, and will send its proposals to the State Law Advisor before the Minister of Transport approves them.
Once the guidelines are published and introduced, the department and the provincial government will be able to publish regulations or directives for the operations of e-hailing services going forward. This relates to the safety and quality standards of the e-hailing platforms and services.
Safety and admin issues to prevail?
Meanwhile, South Africa’s biggest taxi associations, the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) and the National Taxi Alliance, have also welcome the development.
“This lengthy period it took to get the bill signed tired us out and led to unfortunate clashes and the infiltration of criminality into our daily operations, and so we welcome that there has been some movement in this regard,” Santaco said in a statement.
“The introduction of e-hailing services within the road-based passenger transportation sector has been incredibly disruptive, leading to the loss of business for the minibus and meter-taxi industry […]. We look forward to the release of the amendment bill regulations. Once the regulations are released, we will comprehend the practicality of how the amended NLTA will be realised,” they added.
Tensions have remained high between e-hailing and taxi operators nationwide over competition, territory and the alleged poaching of customers.
A year ago, a violent clash broke out at the Maponya Mall in Soweto, leaving e-hailing cars vandalised and set alight, and drivers allegedly beaten and injured by their taxi competitors.
Western Cape e-hailing association member Siyabonga Hlabisa said there was doubt about whether the new developments would ease tensions with the minibus taxi industry.
“The issue they have was with how it was introduced. Even if we comply [and get operating licences], I think they will target us and not allow us to pick people up near taxi ranks and certain areas […] In parts of Johannesburg and Cape Town, we are still being chased and harassed by minibus taxis,” Hlabisa told News24.
However, Hlabisa said drivers would welcome the introduction of the licences as a way of making them officially part of the passenger transport sector.
He said:
We want to comply and be like any other mode of transport. [This new act will show that] we also have the necessary permits and are compliant with the law.
Hlabisa also said the association hoped the rollout of operating licences would be free of backlogs or issues, which drivers had been experiencing in the Western Cape.
The provincial government requires all e-hailing drivers to have operating licences but has previously placed a moratorium on issuing new licences to new drivers to limit the oversupply of drivers. E-hailing drivers have also previously spoken out against the alleged targeting of e-hailing services for noncompliance with regulations.
“We have been fighting for permits in the Western Cape. The provincial government only allocated 2 600 new permits for us, but we have 7 000 e-hailing operators. If they [the Department of Transport] can satisfy us all and give us operating licences, we will be 100% happy,” he said.
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