According to the E-hailing Partners Council, Bolt and Uber drivers are being intimidated by members of the taxi industry.

They claim they are harassed while picking up or dropping off passengers in certain areas.

Secretary-General of the Council, Melithemba Mnguni, says the harassment is becoming unbearable, as it’s having a negative impact on the drivers’ earnings.

“The situation is bad and it’s been bad. It is really bad in Eastgate Mall, Southgate Mall, Sandton by the Gautrain Station and by the Michael Angelo Hotel, it is really bad. It is affecting drivers a lot on the earnings so a lot of times it is affecting our earnings, a lot of times it is affecting us where these guys would harass drivers and damage the car, they would hold drivers to ransom and extort money, so these are some of the issues that drivers are faced with.”

However, the National Taxi Alliance (NTA) has refuted these claims.

NTA Spokesperson Theo Malele says, “These allegations were unfounded although at some point, the incident that happened in the east rand, where some members belonging to a particular association belonging to our sister structure SA National Taxi Council was spotted and disciplinary procedures were effected to those who were found to be on the wrong side of the law and ever since I have known that the industry has never advocated for this kind of violence against people in the malls.”
 

--SABC--