The Soweto United E-hailing Association says they have been assured by taxi associations that their members did not carry out attacks on e-hailing drivers last Thursday.

Police are investigating malicious damage to property following clashes at Maponya Mall in Soweto last week.

Three vehicles were reportedly torched and the drivers assaulted.

Chairperson of the association, Thato Ramaila says, “Unfortunately we do not have all the information that the police have. While they are conducting their investigation, they would be able to give us who could the culprit be. But the taxi associations are ruled out of that as they also came to our meeting to assure us that they had nothing to do with this.”

Regulations 
An economist and director at Antswisa Transaction Advisory, Miyelani Mkhabela, says the transportation sector is a critical engine to drive SA’s economic development and therefore needs to be properly regulated.

Mkhabela says the Transport Department should urgently attend to the concerns of stakeholders.

“The transport sector contributes around 335 to 340 billion rands so it is a big pie. If we speak of BEE, it can be really when we speak of the taxi industry in SA. So we will need to protect that industry and at the same time, we need to invest in e-hailing systems as well and that can reduce challenges there. The MEC of Transport in Gauteng is expected to attend to solving all these issues and get to the seat will pillars in the sector so that they work together to boost the SA economy.”

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