Santaco suspends members over alleged e-hailing violence

Santaco Gauteng Provincial Chairperson,Midday Mali says they have since suspended the members who were found guilty of the recent alleged acts of extortion and violence against Uber and Bolt drivers.

This comes after videos circulating across social media showing e-hailing drivers from Uber and Bolt allegedly being subjected to violence and intimidation from people impersonating Shesha e-hailing drivers and Santaco community patrollers.

Shesha is a South African-developed e-hailing service owned by Santaco and Gauteng National Taxi Association (GNTA).

Mali has condemned the acts and thanked the media for exposing the violence.

“Out of the social media, yes, we have managed to understand and to say look this is not the way we operate as Santaco Gauteng and (the) Gauteng National Taxi Alliance. This is not our approach. Therefore, they’ve misunderstood what they were supposed to be doing on the ground. So, those we felt that they are not fit to give the service that they must do. We said they shouldn’t be on the road at all. The role that you are playing as a media is quite important to us and we really appreciate, Mr Steven, so that it shouldn’t seem as if we are fighting the South Africans as the taxi industry,” says Mali.

In June last year, taxi drivers allegedly set e-hailing vehicles alight in Maponya Mall in Soweto.

The alleged perpetrators were purportedly from local taxi operators.