Transport minister advises Uber, Bolt to install panic buttons

Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy. Picture: Gallo Images/Volksblad/Vloksblad Transport Minister Barbara Creecy said the department is aware of growing safety risks and incidents within the e-hailing industry, many of which are linked to criminal activity. She noted that while national land transport regulations provide for safety features in e-hailing vehicles, these measures are currently not compulsory, but they were made with passenger and driver safety in mind.

Safety concerns in the e-hailing industry affect millions of South Africans who depend on services such as Uber, Bolt and inDrive for affordable and accessible transport every day. Creecy was asked by EFF MP Lorato Florence Tito about what measures the department has taken to ensure the safety of drivers and passengers of e-hailing services. “Sub-regulation (m) calls for a panic button to be installed in the vehicle and also encourages the use of an in-app panic button, whichever is convenient to use when necessary,” said Creecy in theparliamentary reply.

“The introduction of the panic button in the vehicle is also a safety feature for passengers, enabling rapid response by law enforcement or private security.” According to Regulation 16(g), live tracking from the start to the conclusion of the trip depends on the availability of push notifications that inform the user of the trip request, the driver’s arrival time, the driver’s most recent photo, and vehicle details. “The department is still raising awareness and encouraging travellers to utilise these services responsibly and cautiously, as well as to take the aforementioned precautions to stay safe,” she added. Tito also asked the minister whether the department has considered mandatory national panic-alert integration and real-time incident coordination between e-hailing platforms and the police.

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Creecy replied that making the aforementioned measures mandatory has not been considered. “These are measures proposed in the regulations, and other measures can be coordinated by the industry itself, as is currently being done,” she said. “For instance, in order to help with crime prevention and investigations, drivers are asked to think about additional safety precautions, like adding dash cams to record the trip.”

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