THE Western Cape E-hailing Association (WCEA) has called on drivers to report crimes against them after footage of another e-hailing driver falling victim to a robbery went viral.
The video which has been trending online shows a e-hailing driver as two passengers enter his vehicle.
A group of men then surround the car, while one passenger slaps the driver and takes the driver’s phone.
Another man can be seen hitting the driver in the face repeatedly as more skelms enter the vehicle.
The passenger starts searching the driver and scratches in his pockets and continues hitting the driver.
Chairperson of WCEA Siyabonga Hlabisa said that they are aware of the video that is circulating online, but that the driver has not yet reported the incident with them or the South African Police Service.
Hlabisa said that robbing e-hailing drivers has become a norm, however the association is working towards driver profiles.
Hlabisa explained: “This is not the first incident where drivers are being robbed and targeted by criminals in dangerous areas especially on the Cape Flats, it has been happening a lot.
“We report these incidents to SAPS but it has become the norm to rob an e-hailing driver. Everyone is getting used to it since we never get any feedback after a driver has been robbed. The victim does not get any feedback if the criminals have been arrested or not, there is nothing like that at the moment.”
Hlabisa is now calling on e-hailing platforms to make pictures in riders’ profiles mandatory to boost driver safety and for more effective identification of potential robbers.
He added: “The biggest challenge also lies with the apps who are not putting riders' pictures on the profile because drivers' profiles are there.
“Riders have an advantage to see the driver but unfortunately there are still apps who refuse to give their riders profile so that the driver can see who he picks up.
“We are still struggling to convince them, we have been sending a plea to all of the app companies to ask to add a rider’s profile so the driver can see who he is picking up, some apps do have a rider’s profile but not all of them.”