How Uber is failing to protect drivers
Last night our Uber driver’s major concern was not the future of South African president Jacob Zuma. It was far more pressing — the safety of Uber drivers in South Africa.
A few days earlier a driver had acid thrown on him by a passenger. Another was hijacked by taxi drivers over the weekend. And a few weeks back an Uber driver died in hospital after his car had been set on fire.
Yes, you guessed it by taxi drivers protesting.
The same week a driver arrived to pick us up with his arm in a sling. He’s used his arm to defend himself against a panga attack. A taxi driver had chopped his arm with a machete (panga) and despite having spent the night in hospital he was back on the job the next morning.
Why? He has a family to feed and a car loan to pay off.
He didn’t report the incident to Uber as the overwhelming feeling among local drivers is that the company doesn’t care about their safety. Of course Uber speaks platitudes and expects the police to provide security for its private business.
The reality is that attacks on Uber drivers in South Africa have become almost daily events. It is putting both drivers and passengers in danger.
South Africa is a complex and difficult country where passions often run high. The struggle against the apartheid regime was violent. And that violence continues in daily life.
In protest against the behaviour of president Jacob Zuma, riots and burning tyres blocked roads, a not uncommon event in South Africa. The police arealways reminding citizens not to take the law into their own hands, for instance, when a car hijacker was thwarted a crowd on the street beat him. In another incident (captured on video) a criminal card skimmer in Soweto had his car overturned and windows smashed in before being beaten by a mob.
There are few public transport options in South Africa. Bad and drunken driving is rife. On Saturday nights tow trucks await drunken accidents on busy intersections. On Sunday mornings, street lights and traffic lights (known as robots locally) are often knocked down.
The alternatives are expensive and unreliable taxis. The cars are often old and unsafe. And the drivers aren’t vetted; many have criminal records.
The taxi vans are minivans run by gangster owners who down pay tax. They run mainly to the townships and the drivers frequently flip their vehicles injuring and killing passengers. The drivers generally are good people but terrible drivers.
The only alternative transport is your car and to drink and drive where the only sanction if caught is to offer the police a “cold drink”, a bribe of from a few tens of Rand ($3–4) up to a few hundred (for the gullible).
Enter Uber where drivers are financed to buy new cars. They are vetted and can be traced. They drive safely and are a real alternative to drunk driving.
The fact is Uber is a car service that is saving lives on South African Roads.
Unlike other parts of the world where Uber driving amounts to small change, Uber driving in South Africa pays well enough to provide a full time job for many.
But as I said earlier drivers live in fear. In busy spots such as train stations or shopping malls there are regular scuffles initiated by metered taxi drivers. The taxis often damage not only Uber vehicles but injure drivers and also police officers trying to control the scenes.
In central Johannesburg, a rapidly gentrifying multicultural African business hub, Uber drivers fear for their lives.
The big shame is that Uber has managed to do little about this. It has hired security consultants. But nothing more. What they need to do is put lives before profits by setting up safe drop-off and pick-up points, supported by armed security guards, at hotspots.
Anyway, I’ll drink to the health of Uber drivers. And despite the local culture for flouting road rules, will catch one home.
