Uber taking fewer people in South Africa

Uber has introduced new restrictions for passengers and luggage across all its services in South Africa.

The company said these new restrictions are intended to make every trip go smoothly by effectively managing considerations like comfort, space, and safety, particularly when users have luggage with them.

New restrictions

The restrictions apply to all categories of vehicles included in Uber’s service, including the recently introduced Moto option.

Moto allows a user to request a motorcycle for short trips across town, which they can ride on the back of.

Naturally, this option is capped at one user for safety reasons, and it does not permit luggage of any kind.

Uber stated that Moto is meant to be used for short trips across town and that citizens should rely on courier services if they want to send a parcel anywhere.

With regards to passengers, the e-hailing company’s new policy limits travelers to two passengers on its smallest cars, down from the the four it previously allowed.

This applies to Uber Go vehicles, which typically refers to small hatchbacks.

The more common Uber X service, meanwhile, has been dropped from four to three passengers.

This same policy extends to Uber Comfort and Uber Black vehicles, which are all in the same size category.

Uber XL operators, meanwhile, are now restricted to six instead of seven people, though the larger Uber Van segment is unaffected by the changes and can still take the maximum of seven.

The following table shows the changes to Uber’s passenger policy in South Africa:

“Please know that this guidance is advisory. If you feel unsure, we recommend that you contact the driver to confirm, as it would depend on the vehicle,” said Uber.