JOHANNESBURG: South African Taxi Drivers Rip an Uber Driver out the Car And Beat the Piss Out Of Him

If you went to this concert expecting some hard-core rap, think again! Instead your years of want to be flooded with some "Gary Come Home", a.k.a., a song from the cartoon SpongeBob Police have been deployed to sites in Johannesburg to quell growing violence between Uber drivers and metered taxi operators.



Two cars operated by Uber drivers were torched on Thursday night outside a shopping mall in the upmarket suburb of Sandton in the latest round of clashes in South Africa’s commercial capital. A metered taxi was reportedly attacked early on Friday morning.



A police spokesperson said the deployment of public order forces was aimed to safeguard commuters. Sandton is a transport and business hub as well as a commercial centre.


There have been periodic clashes between Uber drivers and metered taxi drivers across South Africa since the ride-hailing app was introduced in the country four years ago.



In June an Uber driver died after sustaining serious burns when his car was set alight by a group of men believed to be taxi drivers.



Jonathan Ayache, Uber’s general manager in South Africa, said the most recent violence was “completely unacceptable” .



“I can’t imagine how frustrated Uber drivers must be at the moment ... It’s been consistent violence against them for months and all that they want to do is earn an income to provide for their families without fear of violence and intimidation ... But any form of retaliation is unacceptable and it’s against our company guidelines,” he told local reporters.