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- E-hailing drivers on Friday flocked to Maponya Mall in Soweto, where some of their colleagues were attacked.
- Three vehicles were torched, and four others were damaged.
- Uber and the Gauteng government condemned the violence.
Scores of e-hailing drivers on Friday gathered at Maponya Mall in Soweto to plan the way forward after their colleagues were attacked and vehicles torched.
It is alleged that taxi drivers were behind the attacks on e-hailing drivers on Thursday night.
One driver was shot and wounded, three vehicles were torched, and four others were damaged.
The e-hailing drivers held meetings at the parking lot while their leaders met with mall management.
The management has deployed armed security guards outside the mall.
Gauteng police opened a case of attempted murder and malicious damage to property.
READ | 'I almost died for my bread': Chaos at Maponya Mall as e-hailing drivers attacked, cars vandalised
Police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi alleged taxi drivers attacked the e-hailing drivers.
“It is reported that on the evening of 1 June, the minibus taxi drivers attacked the alleged e-hailing drivers. Three vehicles were torched. The owners were assaulted. One of them was shot. All three victims were taken to a local hospital."
Nevhuhulwi added:
Gauteng Transport and Logistics MEC Kedibone Diale-Tlabela condemned the attacks.
Diale-Tlabela said three people were rushed to hospital following the incident. One sustained injuries following a shooting incident allegedly by minibus taxi drivers.
"We would like to strongly condemn these senseless attacks on people and vehicle damage. These acts are unacceptable and must be dealt with harshly. We will not be deterred from building an integrated and modernised public transport system by people who use intimidation and violence to communicate their message.
"We wish those injured a speedy recovery and call on law enforcement officials to work around the clock to apprehend those who were involved in these barbaric attacks,” said Diale-Tlabela.
The MEC called for the perpetrators to face the full might of the law.
Diale-Tlabela claimed her department had made significant strides to root out violence in the public transport sector following the 2019 Gauteng Taxi Summit and in line with the recommendations of the Taxi Violence Commission.
"Following the recommendations of the Taxi Violence Commission, amendments were made to the Gauteng Public Transport Regulations Entity 2011 to introduce alternative dispute resolution mechanisms within the public transport service industry, putting the government at the forefront in resolving taxi disputes and promoting stability in the province. We call on all public transport operators to use the arbitration office to resolve their disputes," Diale-Tlabela said.
READ | E-hailing driver speeds off with customer's children, saying he feared metered taxi drivers
Meanwhile, e-hailing platform Uber said it was shocked and saddened by the incident.
In a statement, Uber said: “This is something no one should ever go through. We take any incident of this nature very seriously, and our safety team is investigating these incidents urgently. We are in close contact with the police and stand ready to help law enforcement with their investigation."
The company said it stood for safety and it took incidents of this nature very seriously, as they violated their community guidelines.
“We continuously work around the clock to improve safety on the platform, as safety never ends. We have launched several industry-leading safety features over the years, including features dedicated to the South African market.
“These include the in-app emergency button, which dispatches armed security to your location within minutes of an emergency. Other features include GPS tracking, Trusted Contacts, and Safety check-up,” Uber said.
