E-hailing services could soon be deemed illegal in SA due to registration issues

Stephen Grootes speaks to Mathetha Mokonyama, leader of the Transport Systems and Operations Impact Area at the CSIR, about the impending regulations that could outlaw services like Uber and Bolt in South Africa, and explores how these platforms should be properly regulated.

Listen to the interview in the audio player below.

E-hailing services, Uber and Bolt might find themselves being illegal operators in South Africa within the next month.

They're supposed to be registered at the National Public Transport Regulator, but that process seems to be moving very slowly.

The National Land Transport Amendment Act came into effect on 12 September 2025, with a six month deadline for the sector to have companies and people registered to the national database.

But due to the snail's pace at which the process is unfolding, it's likely that services like Bolt and Uber will not be registered before the 11 March deadline.

That could mean thousands of e-hailing drivers will be operating illegally according to the law.

E-hailing companies would first need to register with the National Public Transport Regulator, before drivers are able to do the same.

Speaking to Stephen Grootes on The Money Show, Mathetha Mokonyama, who leads the Transport Systems and Operations Impact Area at the CSIR says the risk of non-compliance at this stage is very high.

"There are a number of things in the regulations that would require quite a bit of effort from the e-hailing platforms. But also from government itself, to be ready and implement and enforce this regulation."

- Mathetha Mokonyama, lead of Transport Systems and Operations Impact Area - CSIR

"There is a lot of effort and resources required to to fully comply with these regulations."

- Mathetha Mokonyama, lead of Transport Systems and Operations Impact Area - CSIR

"The regulations that are being imposed on the e-hailing platforms, those should ordinarily have been thought about as regulations for broader public transport. For example, the identity of drovers, the identity of operators and many other things. You'd want to know..."

- Mathetha Mokonyama, lead of Transport Systems and Operations Impact Area - CSIR

Scroll to the top of the article to listen to the full interview.