Developing a regulatory framework for e-hailing services in South Africa

Abstract

Public transport has long reflected South Africa's social and economic inequalities. What started as an instrument of colonial control and apartheid segregation has developed into a complex regulatory environment struggling to keep pace with twenty-first-century innovations. This study examines how South Africa's transport law, often burdened by exclusion and informality, can adapt to the rise of e-hailing. This digital phenomenon has transformed both mobility and regulation. The e-hailing crisis, often visible as violent clashes and institutional paralysis, is not an isolated incident but the latest sign of longstanding governance failures in public transport. Chapter 1 sets the stage by presenting the research context, highlighting the 2024 National Land Transport Amendment Act and the 2025 Regulations as pivotal moments that finally legitimised e-hailing as a lawful form of public transport. This milestone comes after a decade of chaos, characterised by conflicts between metered taxi groups and e-hailing drivers, weak enforcement, and legal uncertainty. Thereafter, Chapter 2 traces the development of transport regulation from 1809 through to the post-apartheid era, showing how successive regimes each perpetuated a fragmented and unequal system. Chapter 3 explores how platform technologies have disrupted this legacy, revealing the "pacing problem" between rapid technological breakthroughs and sluggish legislative responses. It highlights, among other things, three linked issues in the e-hailing sector: distorted competition, insecure labour conditions, and increasing transport inequality. Chapters 4 to 6 serve as the analytical and prescriptive core of the thesis. Chapter 4 provides a doctrinal assessment of the National Land Transport Act, its 2024 Amendment, the 2025 Regulations, and the Economic Regulation of Transport Act. While these instruments introduce long-overdue legal clarity, they remain limited by narrow licensing provisions, inconsistent enforcement, and silence on key labour and pricing questions. Chapter 5 employs a functional comparative method, analysing regulatory models from Kenya, Tanzania, and India; jurisdictions that share similar developmental and institutional constraints. Their experiences with commission caps, fare corridors, and driver protection mechanisms offer valuable lessons for balancing innovation with accountability. Chapter 6 synthesises these insights into a proposed hybrid framework, combining competition oversight, minimum labour protections, and transport-justice measures to establish a stable, enforceable, and context sensitive regime. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that effective e-hailing regulation in South Africa requires more than legislative recognition: it demands an integrated approach that treats transport not merely as an economic service but as a governed public good. By drawing together historical, doctrinal, and comparative analyses, the thesis develops a realistic and actionable pathway for reform; one that aligns technological innovation with fair competition, safer working conditions, and equitable access to mobility.