South Africa: Over 15 pick-up areas across Gauteng territory have been declared no-go zones for picking up and dropping off due to the ongoing clashes between metered-taxi operators and Uber drivers.
According to a report in Tuesday’s edition of The Star, the Uber Drivers Movement shared a list of the pick-up points that have seen their members beaten and their vehicles torched and shot at in the long-running feud over passengers.
Teresa Munchick, co-founder and representative of the movement, noted that they were worried that more lives could be lost in the “no-go areas” if a solution was not found.
“There are very specific no-go zones like the Summit Club in Hillbrow, Royal Park in Joubert Park, and the CBD (specifically around the Carlton Centre) is bad, said Munchick.
“All Gautrain stations (Park Station, Rosebank, Sandton, Marlboro, Centurion, Hatfield and Pretoria) are also dangerous. Trouble flares up intermittently, but at Park Station there is always trouble. Unfortunately, the malls have also been targeted, Eastgate, Mall of Africa and Southgate have had some reports of violence.”
Munchick also warned all Uber passengers that they should try and avoid calling an Uber when there are a noticeable amount of metered taxis nearby.
“There are a few places that are no-go zones. These attacks are now a daily occurrence,” she said.
The new no-go zones follow a day after Uber confirmed that one of its driver-partners passed away following a brutal attack in Pretoria on the weekend of 10 June 2017.
According to a press release sent out by the company on Monday, the driver was attacked by a small group of unknown individuals and his car was set alight while he was still in the vehicle, leading to him sustaining serious injuries.
As a result of the ongoing violence Samantha Allenberg, Uber Africa Spokesperson called for direct police and department of transport intervention.
“While we continue to provide you with statements and interviews around these issues, many of your questions can and should be directed to those whose responsibility it is to ensure people can move around their cities; safely and reliably and without limitation,” it said.
“We can only ask that you contact the Department of Transport and Minister of Police to ask for their commitment on how they intend to solve these issue, as they are the only ones who can move this forward.”
