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Goosen E

Uber sparks taxi row in South Africa's Johannesburg - BBC News - 2 views

www.bbc.com/...world-africa-33431722

shared by Goosen E on 24 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • 8 July 2015
  • Taxi drivers in South Africa have had a fierce reputation dating back to the days of apartheid and have often resorted to violence to protect their routes.
  • In the posh business area of Sandton, a passenger was pulled out of an Uber car a week ago and the driver was threatened with whips and batons. The meter taxi drivers say they are angry with Uber for taking their customers, and making business difficult for them.
  • ...19 more annotations...
  • Under apartheid the white minority government had neglected to provide reliable public transport for the majority of South Africans. Mostly black individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit took it upon themselves to start an informal taxi service. They have been running it for decades.
  • Now the government wants to regulate it and it is finding it difficult to penetrate the multi-billion dollar industry. Minibus taxis ferry millions of people every day to and from work. They provide an essential service.
  • And it is under this tense climate that the innovative Uber business idea has arrived.
  • customer
  • her Uber driver was too scared to pick her and her husband up from Sandton after being harassed by the metered taxi drivers.
  • Uber in AfricaLaunched in Johannesburg in 2012
  • Uber prices are cheaper and its cars are much cleaner
    • Goosen E
      Goosen E on 24 Jan 17
       
      7. How did the current taxi service in SA started?
    • Goosen E
      Goosen E on 24 Jan 17
       
      8. Why do people prefer Uber cars to taxis?
    • Goosen E
      Goosen E on 24 Jan 17
       
      9. Where is the Uber head office?
    • Goosen E
      Goosen E on 24 Jan 17
       
      10. Why do taxi owners feel that Uber gets preferential treatment from SA government?
    • Goosen E
      Goosen E on 24 Jan 17
       
      11. What influence did the intimidation of Uber drivers and customers had on the Uber service?
  • a regular Uber customer
  • she has found ways of using the service, undetected by metered taxi drivers.
  • "I ask them to pick me up away from designated pick-up spots in order to enjoy the cheaper service without being intimidated."
  • Its Johannesburg general manager, Alon Litz, said in statement that intimidation was getting worse.
  • "We are in constant communication with the drivers assuring them that their safety is our number one priority. We're looking into ways to reduce cases of intimidation," he said. 'Like third-class citizens'
  • I asked 70-year-old Peter Moloi what problem he had with Uber?
  • that Uber annoyed him because it had jumped the queue for operating licenses.
  • "We are tired of being treated like third-class citizens in our own country."
  • foreign-owned firm received its taxi licence quickly, compared with some of his colleagues who had waited for years.
  • Uber in South Africa had one million rides in 2014 - in the first half of this year it has already reached double that.
  • headquartered in San Francisco in the US
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