Moblity

        The brutal murder of an e-hailing driver outside the Maponya Mall in Gauteng is allegedly linked to conflict between e-hailing operators and the minibus-taxi industry in that area.   Similarly, we have received information that in the Western Cape province certain taxi associations are illegally “impounding/hijacking e-hailing vehicles, charging for a right of passage in certain areas and also fining operators for infringing on their operations.  There are concerns of destructive competition between the two modes and this stems mainly from the indiscriminate recruitment of additional operators.

            The introduction of e-hailing services should be recognised as a positive disruptor within the public transport ecosystem, rather than as a direct competitor to the industry, since it primarily serves a niche market. Public transport modes should never compete against one another, but rather co-exist to offer complementary services that collectively meet the diverse needs of commuters.

            The initial purpose of introducing e-hailing services was to stimulate latent demand and attract private car users into the public transport network by offering a premium, cashless service. However, this model has since shifted, with cash fares now being accepted. Our concern is that the current supply of e-hailing vehicles already exceeds the demand for services, as confirmed by evidence-based statistics from the planning authority, the City of Cape Town.

1(b)     For us the most important intervention is to find an equitable balance between the demand and supply of e-hailing services.  We have regular discussions with e-hailing platform providers to caution them not to indiscriminately add numbers to their platforms.  Operating licences are only issued commensurate to the demand for services.  The City of Cape Town regularly updates its demand model for e-hailing/metered taxi services and operating licences are only issued in accordance with this demand model. 

The National Land Transport Amendment Act (Act no.23 of 2023) and the Second National Land Transport Regulations (that will be promulgated within the next two months) introduces penalties where e-hailing companies allows illegal operators access to the platform.  Overtrading is one of the main reasons for the conflict and instability in the public transport environment and every effort must be made to balance supply and demand.  Clear conditions are also imposed on operating licences to prevent destructive competition with other modes.

C(i)      It is important to understand that e-hailing services is currently (under the National Land Transport Act, 5 of 2009) regarded as a sub-category of a metered taxi service.  When the National Land Transport Amendment Act (23 of 2023) comes into operation, e-hailing will be a separate passenger category.  There are currently 5600 active metered taxi/e-haling operating licences within the Western Cape province.

C(ii)     In terms of the law, the operating licence must specify an area for picking up passengers.  Routes are therefore not specified in e-hailing operating licences.  These licences are issued for operation in a particular municipal area. 

2.         In disposing of operating licence applications, the Provincial Regulatory Entity (“PRE”) must comply with the provisions of the National Land Transport Act (Act no.5 of 2009) and associated regulations as well as the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act.  The law does not require the PRE to consult taxi associations when considering applications for operating licences.  The PRE is required to publish the application in the Government Gazette in accordance with section 59(1) of the NLTA any interested and/or affected parties can make submissions to the PRE.  In the notice, the PRE must state the prescribed particulars and allow interested persons an opportunity to comment and make representations within the prescribed period (21 days).  These comments and representations are duly considered in arriving at a final decision.

3.         At the recent SANTACO peace conference, the tension between the e-haling and minibus-taxi industries were raised as an exigent matter that requires immediate intervention.  An action plan has been crafted to deal with all the route causes of the conflict, and this will include engagements between the e-hailing and minibus-taxi industries.  The Department has already started engaging these industries individually to understand some of the challenges that they are confronted with and to craft working solutions.  This will be followed by bilateral discussions between these industries.