57 Uber vehicles impounded in Cape Town

Fifty-seven Uber vehicles were impounded at the weekend in Cape Town after complaints about them to authorities by the metered taxi industry.

Mayoral committee member for safety‚ security and social services Jean-Pierre (JP) Smith said the city’s Transport Enforcement Unit (TEU) impounded the vehicles “as a result of drivers not having operating licences or operating contrary to their operating licences.” Officers also issued 84 fines for various offences.

“The TEU has received numerous complaints from the metered taxi industry about Uber drivers in recent weeks‚ prompting the operations on Friday and Saturday‚” he said.

“We remind the public and Uber operators that all public transport operators are required to have valid operating licences and that no one is above the law. It is precisely because the city has been steadfast in enforcing the law in an even-handed manner that Cape Town has not seen the kind of violent conflict between different metered taxis and Uber that Johannesburg has seen.”

And‚ in other enforcement actions‚ the Cape Town Traffic Service arrested 102 suspects – 90 of them for driving under the influence of alcohol – and issued nearly 3‚000 fines.