National Land Transport Amendment Bill

Answers to Driver-Partners

The National Land Transport Act (‘NLTA’) is the law that regulates all forms of road public passenger transport in South Africa. It requires that any operator who wishes to offer public transport for which fares are charged must hold a valid Operating Licence issued by a Regulatory Entity. This law is under review for the first time since it came into effect in 2009. As part of this review, there is an Amendment Bill (‘the Bill’) that is proposing a change to the NLTA.

Licensing Process

• Will the changes require that all driver-partners have an operating license?

  The NLTA already requires that all ‘operators’ must have an Operating Licence. The Operating Licence is issued in respect of a particular vehicle. So, every vehicle being used to provide an e-hailing service such as Uber must do so under a valid Operating License.

• What are the penalties for operating without a valid operating license?

  The Bill introduces new penalties against e-hailing companies such as Uber. Under the Bill, e-hailing companies must deactivate the accounts of operators who do not have an operating license or else face a fine of up to R 100,000.

  The penalties in the NLTA against individuals who operate without a valid operating license remain the same. The potential penalties are severe – up to two years imprisonment or a fine of up to R100 000 or up to two years’ imprisonment. The most common sanction is that of impoundment, and this comes under a separate Act, the National Road Traffic Act 1996.

• Are the changes going to improve and speed up the licensing process?

  No. The Bill makes some changes to the procedures involved in the licensing process but makes no mention of any steps to speed up the process. Submissions being prepared with and on behalf of Uber driver-partners makes the point very strongly that it is unfair to impose the above-described penalties when the issue is the considerable delays by the government in processing applications. The submissions strongly make the point that urgent action must be taken to address the backlog.

• Will driver-partners have to apply for a new license (or restart the application process for a license)?

  This is not made clear in the Bill. Submissions being prepared with and on behalf of Uber driver-partners make the point very strongly that those who already have an Operating Licence must not be required to apply for a new one, nor should those whose applications are already being considered have to send in a fresh application.

• Does the bill provide for the issuance of temporary licenses?

  The Bill provides for the issue of a temporary licence for special events (eg, a church outing to a religious festival). It does not, however, allow the issue of a temporary licence whilst an application is being processed.

• How long does it take for a license appeal to be heard? If you appeal a decision, are you invited to attend the hearing?

  These are matters for the discretion of the Transport Appeals Tribunal. The bill makes no mention of any changes to the Transport Appeals Tribunal Act 1998.

Key Amendments

• What does the bill say about Uber driver-partners?

  The most important amendment is that, for the first time, the Bill recognises e-hailing as a separate category of transport.

• What does the bill say about restrictions on pick-up and drop-off areas?

  The Bill says that the Operating Licence ‘may’ (not must) define the area in which the e-hailing vehicle may pick up.  It says that the vehicle may take passengers from the defined area to a point outside that area, and may pick up passengers in that ‘outside’ area as long as they are being brought back to the ‘home’ area.

• What does the bill say about vehicle markings?

  It says that the Minister must make regulations regarding special markings for vehicles used for e-hailing services.  Submissions being prepared with and on behalf of Uber driver-partners points out the safety concerns that could result from vehicle markings.

• What does the bill say about pricing regulations?

  The Bill does not make recommendations about regulating prices charged by e-hailing operators.

Lawmaking Process

• At what stage is the bill?

  The Bill has been passed by the National Assembly and has been referred to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).  The NCOP is currently asking for input from interested parties.

• How long will the bill take to go into effect?

  Government has indicated its intention to complete the NCOP process and put the Bill to the President for signature before the end of 2018. Once the Bill is submitted to the President, it will be up to the President to decide whether and when to sign the Bill into law.

• How can a driver-partner submit a comment on the bill?

  Submissions are being prepared by an independent transport consultant, Paul Browning, to be submitted on behalf of driver-partners to the NCOP Select Committee on Business and Economic Development.  All driver-partners will have the opportunity to read and, if they agree with what is being said, sign the submission. Driver-partners can also submit their own comments.

• When and where are the public hearings?

  Each province will hold public hearings. Each province will announce the day, time and location of their hearings when this information becomes available. As of 13 August 2018, the Western Cape is the only province that has held its public hearings on the Bill.

Submission on behalf of interested driver-partners

• Who is Paul Browning and who is he representing?

  Paul Browning is a long-time and well-respected expert in the field of public transport in South Africa. He has been retained by Uber to assist interested driver-partners in drafting and sending comments on the proposed changes to the National Land Transport Act. Paul Browning is not an employee of Uber and his work is independent of the work of Uber.

• Who drafted this submission? What is it based on?

  At the start of August, an email was sent to the entire Uber driver-partner base in Cape Town regarding the proposed changes to the National Land Transport Act. Driver-partners also were asked to submit any questions they had on the issue and also asked if they wanted to attend an information session. Invitations were then sent to every driver-partner who expressed an interest in attending an information session. During the week of 6th August, Paul Browning chaired a series of information sessions with interested driver-partners in Cape Town. Paul Browning independently drafted this submission based on those conversations.

• Who will this submission be sent to?

  This is a public submission that will be sent to two government bodies: the Select Committee on Economic and Business Development of the National Council of Provinces Committees (NCOP); and the Standing Committee on Transport and Public Works of the Western Cape.

• When is the next set of in person information sessions?

  Paul Browning will be chairing information sessions in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 15 August 2018. Invitations have been sent to every driver-partner who has expressed an interest in attending an information session on the proposed changes to the National Land Transport Act.

  In the coming weeks, there will be additional in-person information sessions in Durban and Port Elizabeth. Invitations will be sent to every driver-partner who has expressed an interest in attending an information session.