Drivers for e-hailing services said they would not be operating in three provinces on Monday.
FILE: Bolt and Uber drivers blocked the N1 driving to the head offices of both companies in Marlboro to hand over their memorandum on 20 February 2020. Picture: EWN
JOHANNESBURG – E-hailing drivers in Gauteng, the Western Cape, and the Free State said they would not be operating on Monday.
They are once again trying to draw attention to the need to regulate the industry, saying the companies that employ them had shown they do not take drivers seriously.
The operators said they were taking advantage of Transport Month to demonstrate their grievances.
“We as operators feel highly exploited by app giant Bolt and think that it’s important that regulation be put in place to protect us as operators,” said spokesperson Vhatuka Mbelengwa.
In 2018, e-hailing drivers took part in a protest and went offline to alert the public to the conditions under which drivers were working.
That included poor profit margins aggravated by rising petrol prices.
The system has over 12,000 operators.
MOTORISTS AFFECTED BY PROTEST
Meanwhile, motorists were being advised to avoid Jan Smuts Avenue in Johannesburg where e-hailing drivers went on strike.
Hundreds of drivers began their protest at Zoo Lake and made their way to Bryanston to handover a memorandum of demands to Bolt.
William Nicol Drive was also affected due to the long convoy of drivers.