An Uber driver has made claims that certain staff members at vehicle testing centres in South Africa re soliciting bribes for favourable reports that can be submitted to the e-hailing company.
The driver, who has been operating on Uber’s platform for nearly two years, recently contacted our sister publication MyBroadband to speak about the deteriorating quality of e-hailing services in South Africa.
There have been multiple reports over the past few years about the decline of e-hailing services like Bolt and Uber, which were once praised for their convenient and efficient services, but are now seen by many as unsafe and unreliable.
One of the biggest complaints Uber has received in recent years is that most of the cars operating on its platform are in bad shape due to a lack of maintenance.
The driver acknowledged these complaints, admitting that many vehicles are in poor condition, but said that this is largely due to the tough margins e-hailing drivers are forced to operate on.
He argued that Uber’s high commissions, combined with the gradual decline in trip requests, is making it difficult for operators to buy or rent better cars.
“Uber puts heavy pressure on us to buy better vehicles, but our income keeps declining,” he said. “This December, I made around half of what I did last year.”
“The fleet owners charge too much for the rental of vehicles, Uber pays us less and less, and we feel our trip requests are reducing for several reasons.”
As a result, drivers are looking for ways to save money, which usually means neglecting car maintenance.
Uber requires that all operators submit an annual vehicle inspection report to prove that their cars are roadworthy and suitable for use on its platform.
The driver alleged that some vehicle testing centre inspectors are accepting bribes of up to R2,000 to falsify reports to hide a car’s technical issues from the e-hailing platform.
“I have seen it happen right in front of me,” he said. “It is not happening at all the inspection branches, but many of them. More and more drivers are beginning to pay bribes for false reports.”
The driver explained that his own car is now considered too old to be used as an Uber vehicle, which means he would have to buy a new one.
Alternatively, it’s possible to pay an inspector R500 to alter the model year of his car to make it seem younger than it actually is.
“I am of course not willing to do this, and it makes my life very difficult,” he said.
“The whole e-hailing industry is one corrupt story. You either know the right people and make money, or you do the right thing and barely survive.”
A known issue
The driver alleged that Uber is aware of these practices but is not doing anything to prevent it as this would require the platform to either reduce its vehicle quality standards or reduce its commission to allow drivers to maintain their cars.
He said that many drivers are afraid to report the issue because their profiles could be blocked, preventing them from earning a living on the platform.
“I have sent Uber proof of the fraud, but they are doing nothing about it,” he said. I have previously gotten hold of Uber in the US, and they called me to collect evidence, but I never heard from them again.”
“Uber knows about the fraud, they know people are driving broken vehicles, they know about the false documents being sent to them.”
He also claimed that it’s incredibly difficult to get a hold of a real person when contacting Uber, and that drivers mostly deal with bots instead of people.
“When it is a person, they feel nothing for drivers. Problems and complaints are never resolved. They make our work bitterly difficult.”
Uber responded to MyBroadband, stating that it was committed to safety, compliance, and maintaining the integrity of the platform for both drivers and riders.
The e-hailing provider stated that its vehicle inspectors are industry-recognized and operate in accordance with national regulations and Natis, the National Traffic Information System.
“We take any allegations of misconduct seriously and have processes in place to investigate concerns raised about inspection integrity,” it said.
It said it takes claims of corruption of unethical conduct very seriously and that it will conduct a fraud investigation into the vehicle testing centres alleged to be engaging in these practices.
Loading ...
