The aggrieved e-hailing operators, who are struggling to obtain valid permits from the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport, have expressed their frustration over vehicle impounding by the Tshwane metro police.
This was during a meeting with Roads and Transport MMC Tlangi Mogale at Ou Raadsaal in Pretoria, where they highlighted their plight at the hands of the metro police taking their cars off the road.
Mogale said the purpose of the meeting with e-hailing operators was to calm tensions over permits and vehicle impounding.
“I held a constructive meeting with members of the e-hailing community along with officials from my department. The e-hailing drivers represented various companies, including Bolt, Uber, Shesha and inDrive. The e-hailing community had reported that they were victimised by the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) who impounded their cars because of permit issues,” she said.
She said while the issuing of meter permits does not fall under the City’s purview, the compliance of meter operators with their operations is important for her department.
“I committed to engage with the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport, who reported that there are 6 100 applications for permits and only 2 500 have been resolved,” she said.
She also expressed intention to resolve issues faced by the e-hailing community, including any unjustified impounding of vehicles by the TMPD.
“This, however, does not mean that we encourage lawlessness and a culture of evading set regulations by public transport operators, as prescribed by the National Land Transport Act, 2009 (Act 5 of 2009),” she said.
Mogale acknowledged that there are application backlogs that hamper the business of those who comply with regulations.
To address the backlog, her department has engaged with the Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, to expedite the completion of outstanding applications for public transport operating licenses.
Mogale said: “The province, working with the various municipalities, has recently established a Crisis Committee which sits weekly to look into resolving the backlogs. While we are committed to this, we also want to urge operators to exercise patience and contact the City for any queries related to operating permits.”
Pretoria News