South Africa last week passed new legislation with big implications for e-hailing drivers on popular apps such as Uber and Bolt.
President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the amended National Land Transport Act (NLTA) into law, allowing e-hailing drivers to apply for operating licences just like any other any other form of public transport service in the country.
A big win for Uber and Bolt
The changes to the NLTA are a huge deal for South Africa’s e-hailing services, as it is a matter that has been on the books for more than 13 years.
Under the new ruling, e-hailing apps will no longer be required to use charter permits and meter taxi operating licences in South Africa.
“This Bill amends the National Land Transport Act of 2009 to bring it up to date with developments since the implementation and simplifies various provisions or solves problems that have arisen since the implementation; and makes provisions for non-motorized and accessible transport,” said Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga.
The inability to obtain operating licences has been a sore spot for e-hailing drivers for over a decade, and progress was first made in March 2020 when former transport minister Fikile Mbalula submitted the amended act to the national assembly for consideration.
Mbalula said that the altered legislation defines a new category of operating licence, and that it also introduces new obligations for e-hailing services to prevent illegal operators on their platforms with a penalty of up to R100,000 for non-compliance.
Additionally, provincial regulators are empowered to withdraw or suspend licences in cases where an operator has contravened the NLTA or the Roads Act.
“It further deals with issues of handling of public complaints and treatment of passengers; colour coding as well as ensuring that SAPS, metro police have no business interest in the operations of public transport,” said Mbalula at the time.
One of the benefits of the changes to the NLTA is that it should help to reduce tensions between metered taxi and ride-hailing drivers.
South Africa has witnessed multiple instances of violence between these two groups, as taxi owners have often accused Uber and Bolt drivers of stealing their business.
In Soweto, these tensions escalated to a point where e-hailing drivers had their cars torched, and the police and provincial government had to step in to define operating territories for the two parties.
One of the grievances cited by the Soweto Taxi Association concerns rogue operators – individuals with no credentials posing as e-hailing drivers to make a commission, often at an uncompetitive rate.
The South African E-hailing Partners Council released a statement on the matter declaring that the real issue was a lack of regulation in the industry, criticizing how the NLTA had still not been amended at the time.
“The Transport Amendment Bill should have been signed into law by now to address the e-hailing legitimacy question,” it said.
In February 2020, a provisional report published by the Competition Commission revealed that 79% of ride-hailing operators in South Africa were providing the service without valid operating licences.
The amended National Land Transport Act will therefore allow the country to better regulate the ride-hailing sector while providing more legitimacy for its drivers.
Join the discussion