Disgruntled e-hailing drivers withdraw services at the Cape Town International Airport

Disgruntled e-hailing drivers has decided to withdraw their services at the Cape Town International Airport, this weekend, until their grievances have been met.

PICTURE: X - @Capetownint

Some of the grievances includes:

·        Poor and unhealthy waiting area

·        Poor toilet facilities

·        No toilet facilities for women

·        No provision of on-site first aid kit and no health and safety officer

·        No physical security

·        No access control system to regulate the waiting area

·        In effective and / no surveillance cameras

·        Oversupply of unregulated vendors (food and car wash). As a result other parking bays are occupied by vendors and their drivers

The drivers wants Uber & Bolt to address their concerns. This means that if you know someone flying in over the weekend, they will not be able to make use of these e-hailing services.

Western Cape’s E-Hailing Association (WCEA) claims they have not received any formal communication to address their issues.

‘’It is with grave concern that we, as WCEA deemed it necessary to seek a formal written response from you regarding the on-going volatile situation at the Cape Town International Airport e-hailing waiting area which is a direct result of inadequate provision of sufficient space with parking bays that match the total amount of cars in the waiting queue,’’ read a letter from WCEA’s General Secretary, Omar Parker, to Uber and Cape Town International Airport.

‘’We urge you to take reasonable measurers to remedy the situation (without any further delay) by addressing our concerns which up to now have only been ignored,’’ he added.

According to Parker, there is conflict between drivers as the airport has limited its waiting area.

‘’WCEA Executive members had to intervene in defusing a number of violent incidents at the parking areas and assumed the role of regulating and helping to contain the unpleasant situation amongst the drivers. One driver already lost his eye in a physical fight,’’ said Omar Parker, WCEA’s General Secretary.

‘’The situation is further impacted negatively by Uber having extended its pin radius over the Bolt parking area and this, amongst the so many other unresolved issues are creating serious challenges,’’ added Parker.

The stay away began on Saturday and operations will resume on Tuesday, 30 April 2024.

Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) said the strike will not affect airport operations or the management at the airport.

‘’We would like to assure all travelers that contingency plans have been put in place to mitigate any disruptions to airport operations. To ensure a smooth travel experience, passengers are urged to allow for extra travel time when traveling to the airport and we would recommend online check-in before your departure.’’

ACSA also encouraged travellers to use authorised airport taxi operators located in the terminal building.

 

Done by: Mitchum George