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South African drivers to boycott Uber and Bolt app to protest malicious blocking, car age limit, others

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.”

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