Uber

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South Africa's Public Transport Market Inquiry: Integrating Modes

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South Africa's Public Transport Market Inquiry: Integrating Modes

The Competition Commission of South Africa’s land-based public passenger transport market inquiry, which commenced in June 2017, addresses a range of questions including issues with intermodal transport links. The inquiry relates to excessive short distance passenger transport fares charged by buses, peak season long distance bus fares, operational subsidies disadvantaging operators that are not subsidised, and restricting particular providers to operate in specific areas and routes.  The issues to be considered cut across several public transport modes. The inquiry coincides with the Gauteng provincial government’s plan to expand its high speed train, Gautrain, into two of Gauteng’s largest townships.

Emerging rivalry in the ride-sharing economy: Kenya and South Africa.

Emerging rivalry in the ride-sharing economy: Kenya and South Africa.

Shingie Chisoro Dube

Entry of the mobile technology ride-sharing service, Uber, into passenger transport markets across the world has brought disruptive competition with substantial benefits to consumers. Uber has rapidly grown its footprint in Africa with operations in eight countries including Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Tanzania.

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Uber: a game-changer in passenger transport in South Africa?

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Uber: a game-changer in passenger transport in South Africa?

Shingie Chisoro Dube

The entry of the app-based Uber service into South Africa’s local passenger transport industry in 2013 raises important competition and regulatory issues. Uber is a taxi smart phone application that uses the customer’s smartphone to detect their specific location using the global positioning system (GPS), and instantly connects the customer to the nearest available driver. Uber taxis work in exactly the same manner as traditional metered taxis in that they both take the customer to their intended destination for a metered fee. However, Uber is a technology-driven service that uses a convenient electronic taxi-hailing system to find, book and pay for taxi services. This presents an innovative new technology platform in the local taxi industry.