‘We need frameworks to manage the whole industry’ - E-hailing Federation of SA

CapeTalk’s Lester Kiewit speaks with Vhatuka Mbelengwa, head of presidency for the National E-hailing Federation of South Africa.

Listen below:

E-hailing drivers will have to follow a number of new rules... or face substantial fines.

Under new regulations, drivers will no longer use charter permits and meter taxi operating licences, and will instead receive an official e-hailing operating license.

E-hailing vehicles will also need to have a sign indicating they are e-hailing vehicles, and drivers will only be able to operate in specific geographic areas.

The area where they are allowed to work will be specified on their licence.

If they fail to comply, they could receive a fine of up to R100,000 or two years in prison.

Mbelengwa says some of these recommendations are encouraging, but they do not really look to the future.

“What we really need to see is a regulatory framework that's going to manage an industry, and not just one aspect of an industry.”

- Vhatuka Mbelengwa, National E-hailing Federation of South Africa 

He adds that there is too much of a focus on drivers, and not on the actual e-hailing companies.

RELATED: New regulations for e-hailing services should include fines for 'historic bad behaviour' by Uber & Bolt, says national federation

He is also calling for better control at the point of entry into the e-hailing market, as many of the problems are caused by oversaturation of the market.

“It can’t just be app companies coming and setting up shop.”

- Vhatuka Mbelengwa, National E-hailing Federation of South Africa 

Scroll up to the audio player for more.