Transport Minister Joe Maswanganyi says that he wants Uber drivers to apply for public transport licenses in line with legislation, failing which they will be taken off the roads.
Maswanganyi says that after talks with the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) last week, he has concluded that no one should offer public transport services without the required license.
This despite his department’s letter to metered taxi operators in which it stipulates that Uber is not included under the National Land Traffic Act which requires all public transport operators to be licensed.
Maswanganyi says that anyone who does not abide by the law will be taken off the road.
“And those which are not licensed have to be taken out of the roads. So no one will operate [this] mode of transport without a license.”
Metered taxi drivers have accused the government of favouritism, saying Uber was not included in the same regulations as other public transport operators.
Meanwhile, Maswanganyi says the recent attacks in which Uber vehicles were set alight is criminal.
“As much as they have got issues with those who operate in this platform called Uber, we can’t allow anybody to burn or intimidate others.”
He says a meeting is being planned with both Uber and the metered taxi groups in a bid to end the violence.
Eye Witness News…