Gauteng’s MEC for Transport, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, has urged urgent steps towards the formalisation of the e-hailing industry after a deadly incident in Soweto reignited tensions between the sector and local taxi operators.
The call came after a meeting on Thursday between the MEC and a group claiming to represent e-hailing drivers. The engagement followed protests in Pimville, where residents took to the streets after an e-hailing driver was shot dead and his vehicle set alight.
Residents Demand Taxi Ban at Maponya Mall
Demonstrators blocked the entrance to Maponya Mall, insisting that taxi drivers should no longer operate in the area. According to residents, taxi operators have been intimidating e-hailing drivers, creating a climate of fear.
Diale-Tlabela stressed that the provincial government has been able to formalise the taxi sector through recognised bodies like the South African National Taxi Association (SANTACO) and the National Taxi Alliance (NTA). However, she noted that the e-hailing industry remains highly fragmented, making regulation and accountability difficult.
“The e-hailing sector is very fragmented, and it’s quite difficult. At the provincial level, I sit with a different leadership who, whenever we are on the ground, dispute that they are not being led by them and they don’t know them,” she said.
Unclear Driver Affiliation Slows Investigation
This fragmentation, she explained, has complicated the authorities’ efforts to determine which company or association the deceased driver belonged to. “We also wanted to know which association the member who has just passed on belonged to. So it’s quite difficult for us because no one wants to tell us really where the member is coming from.”
The local taxi association has denied any involvement in the killing, committing to peace and stating they were unaware of the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Call for Industry ‘Cleansing’
Meanwhile, Pimville residents have doubled down on their demands that taxis stop operating at the mall. The MEC acknowledged their concerns, saying she understood why the community would want to suspend operations given the suspicion surrounding the killing. “It’s a good time for us and the taxi industry to cleanse itself,” Diale-Tlabela added.
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