Cape Town – The e-hailing industry has welcomed the City of Cape Town’s decision to lift a moratorium on new applications for metered-taxi operating licences which includes e-hailing services.
On Tuesday, the City said it had informed the Western Cape Provincial Regulatory Entity (PRE) that the moratorium could be lifted and that it is anticipated that the PRE will soon announce how and when operators can apply for new metered-taxi operating licences.
The PRE is responsible for receiving applications and the issuing of public transport operating licences.
The moratorium was imposed by the PRE in February 2021, on request of the City as the Planning Authority for Transport in Cape Town. This followed the industry tabling several requests for a moratorium.
The City’s Urban Mobility Directorate conducted a survey in the latter part of 2022 to determine the demand for and supply of metered-taxi services across the City.
Customers and operators participated, and e-hailing platforms assisted the City with additional information. This method determines the number of operating licences that can be supported based on the current demand for these services from the public.
“On taking office, it was a focus of mine to end the moratorium well ahead of the initial December 2023 timeframe. The City’s work has included completing an inventory of all metered-taxi operating licences in the system; developing a method of determining demand for metered taxi-services; and establishing a forum for engagement with the industry,” said Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
Bolt Head of Public Policy for East and Southern Africa, Andrew Ihsaan Gasnolar said they welcomed the decision.
“We are encouraged by the progress that the City has made over the past year, and we are glad our efforts have resulted in the lifting of the long-standing moratorium.
“We look forward to working with the City to build on this important step in building conducive regulatory measures that enable drivers and passengers across the city to benefit from the services on our platform.
“We believe that this is an important first step as it will lay the foundations for the City to recognise e-hailing as a distinct and stand-alone mode of transport, and will enable the sector to grow and to both create economic opportunities for thousands of drivers that rely on e-hailing platforms to earn an income as well as to provide an alternative mode of transport for people in Cape Town,” Gasnolar said.
Cape Times