Uber Eats cancels services to Soweto due to safety concerns

Residents of Soweto will no longer be able to order their meals via the Uber Eats App, according to Fin24.

The announcement was made by the delivery giants earlier last month, as the company stressed that crime in the area posed an imminent threat to the safety of its drivers.

This was felt quite strongly by those who are familiar with Soweto’s crime stats, and foresaw the challenges deliverers would face, after Uber Eats announced in 2019 that it would be introducing a new people-powered form of delivery: bicycle. It was an idea that didn’t seem to materialise.

So far this year, there have been 2,961 common robbery crimes reported in Soweto since the start of the year. Crime stats remain constant and unrelenting.

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In a message sent via the app to its customers, the company wrote: “Through our investigations, and from feedback shared by delivery people, we’ve come to understand that continuing to offer delivery services in Soweto poses an imminent threat to the safety of delivery people. Therefore, we’ve made an important decision to permanently close Soweto for delivery. This permanent closure will take effect on 31/08/2022”.

Troubled waters for Uber Eats

Uber Eats launched its app delivery service in South Africa in 2016, starting with 1,000 restaurants, and extending it to over 7,000 more in the years to follow.

It has operated in 33 cities across the country, including areas like Soweto, which it included in 2019.

The township is home to more than 1.2-million people as well as a number of budding restaurants.

The company also introduced the idea of delivering food via bicycle – a first for Uber Eats, piloted in Soweto –  as opposed to cars and motorcycles.

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Uber has come under fire from the South African community ever since it started its e-hailing services in 2013.

During its initially stages, the company had to contend with resistance from rival metered taxi operators, who have fought to push Uber partner drivers out of what they say is their territory.

Last year, Uber drivers filed a lawsuit in the Johannesburg Labour Court, in an attempt to compel Uber SA to acknowledge its drivers are legally entitled to statutory employment.