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Uber death: Minister makes bid to defuse taxi violence

Johannesburg - Minister of Transport Joe Maswanganyi has condemned the spate of violent attacks involving the South African Meter Taxi Association as well as e-hailing operators, after an Uber driver died on Monday as a result of an attack. 

“This kind of behaviour which breeds intimidation and anarchy stands condemned and should not be allowed in our public transport system and our country in general,” Maswanganyi said in a statement.

He further stated that the attacks are against government’s vision to promote a safe and reliable public transport system. 

“These attacks are also against the ethos of the society we are seeking to build - a society free of hate, violence and crime,” he said.

Maswanganyi is set to meet with the SA Meter Taxi Association as well as Uber management to deal with the ongoing feud. 

The Ministry of Transport called upon members of the public with any knowledge and information of incidents of violence and criminality to report them to law enforcement agencies. 

On Monday Uber announced that it had employed private guards in a bid to beef up security amid allegations of intimidation and violence against drivers in Gauteng, after the death of a driver whose vehicle was set alight.

The cab-hailing service confirmed that an Uber driver who sustained major burns when his vehicle was set alight near Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria in June succumbed to his injuries on Monday.

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