Drivers for e-hailing services including Uber and Bolt will be required to register for licences that will indicate the geographic areas in which they are approved to operate.
Their vehicles need to be branded, and drivers must obtain a professional driving permit, pass a criminal background check and have up-to-date photo IDs. Vehicles must also be fitted with panic buttons for quick emergency response.
Should drivers fail to adhere to the new regulations, they could incur a two-year prison sentence or a financial penalty of up to R100,000.
This is provided for by proposed legislation presented by the transport department to the parliamentary portfolio committee to better regulate the e-hailing industry after a substantial increase in violence against e-hailing drivers in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in the past year.
Chair of the portfolio committee on transport Donald Selamolela said minister Barbara Creecy approved the National Land Transport Amendment (NLTA) Act in March.
The legislation is being translated into a second official language ahead of its being gazetted for implementation, slated for October.
While the murder of an e-hailing driver at Maponya Mall in Soweto last month put the issue under the spotlight, Selamolela said the NLTA Act has been on the books for more than a decade and was assented to by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2024.
"The incident at Maponya Mall is merely the most recent in a long string of incidents of violence between taxi drivers and e-hailing platforms. The desire to resolve the conflict has been one of the primary motivators behind pushing the NLT Act, with the hope the legislation could reduce tensions between the two parties.
"One of the reasons for the conflict was the concerns of the Soweto Taxi Association, which took issue with individuals without credentials posing as e-hailing drivers to make a commission, frequently at uncompetitive rates. The South African National Taxi Council echoed the sentiment and noted the NLTA Act is essential in the current situation where unregulated operators have become commonplace."
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