Good news for people who want to use “Afrikaans Uber” Wanatu

Wanatu has seen an exponential increase in trip volumes since returning to Tshwane’s roads after a court victory in mid-February 2025 and is planning a major expansion in the near future.

The Afrikaans-focused e-hailing service had two of its cars impounded by the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) last month as part of the city’s broader crackdown on permitless taxi drivers.

From late 2024, the TMPD intensified enforcement operations against e-hailing operators, confiscating many of their vehicles if they carried passengers for reward without a road carrier permit.

The amendment of South Africa’s Road and Transport Act gave recognition to e-hailing operators as a separate class of public transport carriers.

They are now required to obtain road carrier permits from provincial authorities to offer their services.

However, the Gauteng Transport Department stopped accepting applications for permits many months ago due to a substantial backlog of more than 20,000 unprocessed permits.

The Tshwane metro initially focused on Bolt, InDrive, and Uber drivers but after Wanatu became more widely known due to several reports focused on its driver language requirement, also impounded two its cars.

Drivers from other e-hailing services risked impounding by returning to the roads after paying for their cars to be released.

Their options were effectively to operate “illegally” in the eyes of the metro and earn an income or to seek alternative jobs.

Wanatu could not risk that approach as its cars are all branded, making them soft targets for TMPD officers.

Wanatu suspended operations on 5 February, describing the metro’s actions as unlawful and accusing the TMPD of intimidating its drivers.

It approached the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria and obtained an interdict barring the TMPD from impounding e-hailing operators’ cars for not having a road carrier permit while the provincial authority was sorting out its applications backlog.

Wanatu resumed operations within an hour of the court granting its interdict.

While awaiting the outcome of the court application, Wanatu launched a crowdfunding campaign to help the company pay its drivers’ basic salaries.

The effort drew in R57,267 in donations to help supplement operational costs while Wanatu was out of service.

Wanatu CEO Judith van der Walt told MyBroadband that the company was concerned the TMPD’s actions would have a long-term negative impact on its operations even after it returned. Fortunately, that did not happen.

“Our trip volumes recovered and increased after the interdict,” Van der Walt said. “We are humbled by the steadfast support of our users and community.”

By noon on 11 March 2025, registered Wanatu users reached 62,662. That was over double the number it had less than two months ago.

Van der Walt said that Wanatu’s drivers had not been troubled any further by the metro since the interdict was granted.

With Wanatu’s bounce-back in full swing, the company plans to double its fleet in Pretoria and Centurion from 50 cars to 100 and expand services to more provinces and towns “soon.”

Wanatu has sought further finality on the permit issue by approaching the High Court.

It has asked for a ruling that e-hailing services be exempted from applying for road carrier permits or a mandamus order forcing the Gauteng Transport Department to accept and process applications.

Enhanced focus on security

Wanatu has gained prominence primarily for its requirement that drivers be able to speak Afrikaans.

However, its business model also differs from the large incumbents in several other areas.

Firstly, it employs its drivers full-time and pays them a basic salary, regardless of trips completed.

Bolt and Uber drivers work on a contractual basis and only earn money for the trips they complete.

Secondly, Wanatu owns all of its vehicles, so it requires its drivers to keep them in impeccable condition.

The service is also focuses on the safety of riders and drivers, with cars packed to the brim with security devices.

These include multiple interior cameras, a front-facing dashcam, a microphone, and a dedicated dashboard-fitted panic button, all of which can transmit data to a central control room.

Wanatu drivers also get a hand radio for communicating with the control room or private security companies when it is faster to do so or cellular reception is lacking.

Coupled with the familiarity of speaking to a driver in their first language, these features have made Wanatu a hit among the Afrikaans-heavy Pretoria community.

According to the 2011 Census, roughly 47.67% of residents in the city had Afrikaans as a first language, with English in a distant second place at 16.38%.