After a string of incidents across the country, Masakale said the reality for drivers has become deeply worrying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recent cases include a driver assaulted and extorted after a passenger drop-off at Phoenix Plaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A suspect appeared in court in Pretoria West after a driver was brutally murdered following a ride request, while another driver in Cape Town was stabbed to death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Masakale, these attacks are no longer isolated events but part of a pattern affecting drivers nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat would actually assist is what we\u2019ve been advocating for,\u201d she explained, pointing to safety measures that some platforms have begun implementing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne specific app, Bolt, has actually come to the party. We\u2019re still engaging with Uber, which has not yet come to the party.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Masakale said some companies have attempted partial solutions, but they remain inadequate without comprehensive rider verification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cInDrive has tried at least with a picture of a passenger on the app, but at the moment they still don\u2019t have what we call a rider verification process where they have biometric systems,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He believes proper passenger verification would significantly reduce crime against drivers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are SIM cards used specifically just to register members where ID documents are scanned to make sure that the passenger is actually on a system.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis ensures we are actually transporting people that have been verified and checked instead of just carrying criminals like in this incident,\u201d Masakale said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New regulations have a cost problem <\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Uber-1024x576.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nNew regulations for the industry are set to take effect on 11 March, including mandatory safety features such as panic buttons in vehicles and visible branding to identify e-hailing cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Masakale warned that implementation presents challenges for drivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He explained that the panic button issue\u2014we have found it to be a cost to the driver. Most of our drivers cannot even afford to shoulder that cost,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Private security companies have stepped in to offer response services, but this has created another financial burden for drivers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPrivate response companies have come to us that have eventually offered their services at a cost to the driver,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, NEFSA wants law enforcement directly involved in the response system. \u201cWe demand that SAPS intervene,\u201d Masakale said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve identified all hotspot zones, which we request that they station rapid response units specifically for e-hailing drivers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that linking panic buttons directly to police response units\u2014rather than private firms\u2014would drastically reduce response times and help prevent attacks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese panic buttons [should be] linked to law enforcement agencies, whereby they can then mitigate the response time and mitigate these incidents from happening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Masakale, the solution is a combination of stricter platform verification, affordable safety requirements, and direct policing support\u2014without which drivers will remain exposed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The popularity of e-hailing services such as Uber and Bolt has created a new target for criminals in South Africa. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":814980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[20207,853,23238],"class_list":["post-851180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-e-hailing","tag-south-africa","tag-the-national-e-hailing-federation-of-south-africa-nefsa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=851180"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":851373,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851180\/revisions\/851373"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/814980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=851180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=851180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=851180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nNew regulations for the industry are set to take effect on 11 March, including mandatory safety features such as panic buttons in vehicles and visible branding to identify e-hailing cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Masakale warned that implementation presents challenges for drivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He explained that the panic button issue\u2014we have found it to be a cost to the driver. Most of our drivers cannot even afford to shoulder that cost,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Private security companies have stepped in to offer response services, but this has created another financial burden for drivers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPrivate response companies have come to us that have eventually offered their services at a cost to the driver,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, NEFSA wants law enforcement directly involved in the response system. \u201cWe demand that SAPS intervene,\u201d Masakale said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve identified all hotspot zones, which we request that they station rapid response units specifically for e-hailing drivers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that linking panic buttons directly to police response units\u2014rather than private firms\u2014would drastically reduce response times and help prevent attacks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese panic buttons [should be] linked to law enforcement agencies, whereby they can then mitigate the response time and mitigate these incidents from happening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Masakale, the solution is a combination of stricter platform verification, affordable safety requirements, and direct policing support\u2014without which drivers will remain exposed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The popularity of e-hailing services such as Uber and Bolt has created a new target for criminals in South Africa. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":814980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[20207,853,23238],"class_list":["post-851180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-e-hailing","tag-south-africa","tag-the-national-e-hailing-federation-of-south-africa-nefsa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=851180"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":851373,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851180\/revisions\/851373"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/814980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=851180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=851180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=851180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}