Gauteng intends to develop its own e-hailing platform to reduce crimes associated with digital transport services, the province’s MEC for Transport, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, has said.
This emerged after Diale-Tlabela met with management of the Maponya Mall, taxi drivers and representatives from the e-hailing industry before her visit to the family of slain driver Siyanda Mthokozisi Mvelase on Monday.
Mvelase was shot moments before attackers torched his e-hailing vehicle after he had reportedly just pulled up outside the mall entrance.
Two other people were shot and injured during the attack.
According to The Star, Diale-Tlabela said the e-hailing platform would ensure the safety of commuters as it would eradicate crimes associated with digital transport services.
“It is now time for a Gauteng-based e-hailing app. There is no one way that we will allow young women to cry out about their safety, as safety and crime have become a huge challenge because some apps are notorious for crime,” she said.
“We are held responsible by the government. We are saying as government, let us work on our e-hailing app so we can end the crime in our province.”
Diale-Tlabela said the provincial government was awaiting a final determination from the national Department of Transport but that her department would go ahead with its plans to formalise the largely unregulated and informal e-hailing sector.
She said a government-driven platform would create jobs for young people.
“A government-led platform will be a first for Gauteng and will assist in creating jobs for young people. We are now calling on the e-hailing industry to say, ‘let us organise ourselves in a better manner’. We want to know who is operating, as this can’t be a free for all, as there are too many illegal operators,” she said.
Gauteng E-hailing Services chairperson Mpho Hlahla said a government app would help to minimise criminal elements in the e-hailing transport sector, which was rife with unregistered operators who posed a danger to drivers and customers.
Meanwhile, e-hailing platform Uber said it was “deeply saddened” by the attack, but that Mvelase was not registered on its platform.
“While the drivers affected have been confirmed not to be registered on the Uber platform, the safety of every driver and rider using any e-hailing service should always be a priority, and it is something we take very seriously,” said Uber.
The platform said it had dispatched its public safety liaison team, comprising experienced former law enforcement professionals, to provide investigative support on the day of the incident.
“We temporarily paused service in the affected area until we could be certain that both drivers and riders on the Uber platform could travel safely. We remain committed to working closely with industry stakeholders, authorities, and the broader e-hailing community to help make the industry safer,” Uber said.
Mvelase, 27, had reportedly saved up to buy his own vehicle for self-employment in Johannesburg, where he moved to from KwaZulu-Natal about two and a half weeks ago.
