The post South African drivers to boycott Uber and Bolt app to protest malicious blocking, car age limit, others first appeared on Technext.
Ejike Kanife reports: IN SUMMARY
Boycott Announcement: Uber and Bolt drivers in South Africa’s Western Cape will boycott e-hailing apps starting Tuesday, August 20, 2024. The boycott, led by the Western Cape E-hailing Association (WCEA), will occur on the second-to-last Tuesday of each month until December 2024.
Reasons for Boycott:
- Arbitrary Deactivations: Drivers protest against the arbitrary deactivation of their accounts by the app companies, often for unjustified reasons like unverified claims, false accusations, and discriminatory practices.
- Opaque Appeals Process: Drivers criticize the lack of transparency and fairness in the appeals process, which they argue is heavily biased against them.
Impact on Drivers:
- Economic Hardship: Deactivations severely affect drivers who rely on this income to support their families.
- Discriminatory Practices: Many deactivations are believed to be based on discrimination, affecting foreign nationals and local black South Africans disproportionately.
Demands by Drivers:
- Transparency and Fairness: The drivers are advocating for a transparent process where they are informed of deactivation reasons and given a fair chance to appeal.
- Progressive Discipline: They demand a shift from punitive measures to a more corrective and rehabilitative approach.
- Increased Earnings: Drivers are calling for a 20% increase in base fare and per-kilometer rates to cover rising operational costs.
- Reduced Commission: The drivers want the commission rates reduced from 25-43% to 15%.
- Scrapping Car Age Limit: They demand the removal of Uber’s three-year car age limit, which they argue creates financial strain and limits opportunities for new drivers, especially those from lower-income backgrounds.
Quotes:
“Many drivers feel that this policy is unfair and disproportionately benefits the e-hailing companies, which prioritize newer vehicles to maintain a certain brand image, rather than considering the practical challenges faced by drivers.”
Omar Parker (Secretary of WCEA):
“We believe that many of the claims used to justify deactivations are either exaggerated or completely false. Often, drivers are not given a fair opportunity to defend themselves against the accusations.”
“Uber for example has a compulsory arbitration provision linked to their on-boarding registration process to determine disputes should a driver wish to challenge any unfair practice, but for such dispute resolution to take effect the driver/operator must deal with it in a foreign county (Amsterdam Netherlands), which is grossly impractical, unreasonable and in complete disregard to the South African legal dispute resolution mechanisms provided for in terms of SA legislation.”
