Uber's 3-year vehicle age limit requirement in SA kicks in

E-hailing driver Johnny Masanhloane says Uber's three-year vehicle age limit is the most "selfish decision" by the e-hailing company "which is losing clients" in South Africa.

He said the decision will not only hamper business but will jeopardise drivers who are already living from hand to mouth to make ends meet.

Masanhloane joined the Uber platform early last year after purchasing his 2021 Kia vehicle through bank vehicle finance.

"I am still paying insurance and installments now. If my car after three years is going to be phased out, that means I have to go to other e-hailing platforms.

"When you look at it with that three-year period that I have worked under Uber with my new car, how much money would I have made in my pockets after paying the bills? After paying everything how much am I going to take home?" he asked.

He complained that they are only able to make money towards the end of the month as during the month there is not much business. Masanhloane said this was a selfish decision by an e-hailing company which was only looking at how to please its clients.

He said maybe Uber was trying to impress its South African market by showing that cars that operated on its platform were new compared to other e-hailing competitors in the country such as Bolt and InDrive.

He added that the move showed how desperate Uber was for clients as most people had moved to other e-hailing platforms.

"Most Uber clients will tell you that. On Uber if you request you take almost 10 minutes or you hardly get a car especially when you are in townships and they end up cancelling whereas with Bolt it doesn't even take two minutes," he said.

Masanhloane said Uber was trying to raise standards but unfortunately, drivers were suffering. He said the best place to generate money with Uber was the northern suburbs of Johannesburg.

He added that a car will be on the platform while it is still new but after three years they don't need it anymore.

"They kick it out which is unfair. Where should I go? Does this mean I have to trade in my vehicle, refinance it and continue with debt just to remain on their platform?" he asked.

He complained he wasn't making enough to finance his vehicle, pay insurance and still generate profits.

"Am I making R2,000 a day and then there is fuel also? They are only thinking about themselves. It is not fair and why only in South Africa?"

Lucky Ramatsisi, who joined Uber more than five years ago but now also uses the Bolt platform, said it was difficult to generate profits on Uber if one's vehicle was financed and Uber kept adding more restrictive requirements.

He said the new car age restriction would push drivers towards other platforms.

"When they change requirements they don't even give drivers the opportunity for inputs, they just let you know that they have made changes perhaps because customers are complaining that cars are old" he said.

Uber South Africa said it was working on an updated statement which would include answering TimesLIVE questions about the impact of its decision. The e-hailing service said it would only release the statement on Monday.