The ongoing rivalry between Johannesburg metered taxi drivers and Uber operators appears set for court.
Both parties laid criminal charges against the other at the Pretoria Central Police Station following another clash that resulted in one Uber vehicle being damaged near the Hatfield Gautrain station on Tuesday night.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Kay Makhubela said a group of Uber operators had opened a case of attempted murder and malicious damage to property, while the metered taxi drivers laid a case of intimidation.
"The cases were opened last night. Nobody has been arrested. Police will continue to maintain a strong presence in several hot-spots to ensure we don’t have a repeat of what happened near the Hatfield station‚" said Makhubela.
Last night’s incident comes a few days after three cars were torched in Sandton. Several drivers from both sides were injured as they fought over who should provide transport services. The incident has sparked increased police visibility in the affected areas.
A government delegation led by Transport Minister Joe Maswanganyi and Gauteng community safety MEC Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane visited the Sandton area on Monday to meet with both operators and to calm the situation. Speaking during his walkabout‚ Maswanganyi urged operators to resolve their differences through peaceful processes and warned that the government would not tolerate unlawful behaviour.
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