Johannesburg - E-hailing Bolt and Uber drivers operating in the Soweto region are living in fear and are currently operating from other areas after a vicious attack.
Three vehicles were set on fire, two drivers were shot, and other people had to flee the scene last Thursday.
While the motive is unknown, other victims who were affected said they were not in the e-hailing industry, yet their cars were attacked by unknown assailants.
In areas such as Sam Ntuli Mall in Katlehong, e-hailing drivers are often attacked and have their earnings confiscated when they collect clients. According to taxi operators, e-hailing drivers are not supposed to collect people from the mall.
“As taxi operators, we are here to give service to the people. We think e-hailing operators are here to steal our business,” said Sakhile Mkhwanazi.
However, clients said it was unfair for taxi operators to make a decision on their behalf.
“I do not have a private car, and I go to a mall to buy groceries to last my family for the whole month, and I am happy to get an e-hailing service to take me home. But I am not happy with the fact that taxi drivers take us out of the cars, saying they are not allowed. Taxis tend to leave us far from home,” said Zanele Mcube, a resident of Katlehong.
Drivers said they had been intimidated by taxi drivers who had been collecting clients from Maponya Mall, while others said it was too soon to say who the suspects were.
On Friday, there was a meeting between all stakeholders, including taxi associations, who distanced themselves from the Maponya Mall incident. The mall has provided a designated e-hailing drop-off zone about 100 metres from the taxi rank.
A victim whose car was torched is Kabelo Makhesane. He is his family’s breadwinner but his car was not insured.
He said that on Thursday he was driving to the ATMs at the mall with his sister to get cash and buy food.
“Guys just attacked my car and others that were in front of us. We don’t know the reason for the attack. I honestly don’t know why they attacked me. I was not even picking up any passengers,” said Makhesane.
He said he did not know if the attackers knew him before or not. He said they did nothing to explain anything to them. When asked if he had been hurt, Makhesane said not badly, but he was hurt.
He said this was where he worked as he got requests from any region. Makhesane said he hardly waited for trips to Maponya Mall.
“I am scared now to continue because I don’t know what to do. A colleague has advised that I get trips from Survive because it is safer than in Soweto,” he said.
He added that he was the father of a young girl. Makhesane said it seemed that attacks were spreading to the rest of the region, and that he wished to send a message to the attackers to cease their actions.
Gauteng SAPS spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo said the police were investigating a case of attempted murder and malicious damage to property following a squabble between taxi drivers and a few drivers believed to be e-hailing drivers at Maponya Mall.
Masondo said it was reported that on Thursday evening, taxi drivers attacked alleged e-hailing drivers. He confirmed that three vehicles were torched, and the owners were assaulted and one of them was shot. Three victims were hospitalised.
“Four more vehicles were also damaged. At this stage, the police cannot confirm the identity of the victims or whether they are indeed e-hailing drivers, pending an investigation,” Masondo said.
No suspects had been arrested.
Soweto is not the only place where e-hailing drivers are bullied. A Bolt driver said they were also abused in the Tembisa and Tsakane areas in Ekurhuleni.
Boy Maratha asked why Bolt app owners were not intervening in the ongoing attacks.
“What are the app owners doing about the attacks? When are they going to intervene? The worst thing is that if you don’t take trips in such areas, you get ratings deducted. Taxi associations damage cars and hit drivers if they are found there. So why doesn’t Bolt or Uber go and solve the problem?” asked Maratha.
The Star