E-Hailing drivers all over the Kaap decided to pull up their hand-brakes in protest over their “poor” earnings.
Siyabonga Hlabisa, chairperson of the Western Cape E-Hailing Drivers Association, said some 7 000 drivers in the Kaap embarked on a two-day strike on Wednesday.
They are demanding less commission be paid to companies like Uber while they are also asking for fare increases in light of the rising petrol prices.
“We marched to the different e-hailing companies handing over a memorandum which includes our demands of a reduction of their commission which is a maximum of 25 percent down to 10 percent,” said Hlabisa.
“Also, the fares for the customers have not gone up with the petrol prices so the drivers do not get as much money from trips like they used to.
“Before a driver would earn between R9 000 to R8 000 a month but now they earn R4500 if they are lucky.
“We had discussions before about this and they agreed to reduce the fares for short trips but for longer trips it remains the same, so a R100 trip earns far less than before.”
He said there were also safety concerns: “Part of the memorandum is that a picture of the client is shown to the driver just like the client gets a picture of the driver, which could help in assessing danger when they make their trips.”
On Thursday, the drivers will be marching to companies again, this time asking for clarity about registering their vehicles after a number of them have had their vehicles impounded following a miscommunication between companies and the city.
Mpho Sebelebele, spokesperson for Uber South Africa, confirmed receiving the memorandum, but said multiple fare increases have been made this year, the most recent in July.
“Recently, we have seen driver earnings begin to recover in South Africa and we are constantly looking for ways of helping drivers increase their earnings while providing riders with more cost-effective options...”