{"id":625299,"date":"2026-01-16T12:59:29","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T10:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=625299"},"modified":"2026-01-16T13:00:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T11:00:26","slug":"uber-problem-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/motoring\/625299-uber-problem-in-south-africa.html","title":{"rendered":"Uber problem in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Uber has declined to comment on whether it still incentivises drivers to keep their cars clean and well-maintained. While the platform has a driver deactivation policy, it makes no mention of vehicle quality or maintenance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rate Uber pays its drivers varies per service tier. However, drivers operating within the same tier receive the same rate per kilometre, regardless of their vehicle’s condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, there is no direct incentive for Uber drivers to keep their cars clean and well-maintained, with the only apparent benefit being the ability to generate better tips and star ratings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MyBroadband asked Uber how it incentivises drivers on its platforms to keep their vehicles well-maintained, but it declined to comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Uber won’t be participating in commentary on this topic at present,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to its deactivation policy, deactivation primarily relates to poor driver quality, which Uber measures through several factors, most notably star ratings, cancellation rates, and acceptance rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There is a minimum average rating in each city, and we will alert you over time if your rating is approaching this limit,” the policy says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It adds that Uber will provide drivers with recommendations to improve their ratings based on rider feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If your average rating still falls below the minimum after multiple notifications, your account will be deactivated,” it says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Provided driver star ratings remain a significant factor in deactivation, that appears to be the only way riders can express their dissatisfaction with a vehicle’s condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping a car clean and well-maintained is time-consuming and costly, and many e-hailing drivers skimp on this to reduce their expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rate Uber pays its drivers differs by city, but is the same per kilometre for drivers operating in the same service category (e.g., UberX) and in the same area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uber previously informed MyBroadband that it considers various factors when determining the prices of its offerings in each city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Each city presents its own unique opportunities and challenges,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We always look closely at our business model, the needs of our rider and driver community, as well as the economics in each city and provide the best possible fare and service that is unique to that market.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It added that its fares are based on a combination of the base fare, trip time, distance travelled, traffic conditions, and driver availability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the ride-hailing service offers different ride tiers, with some offering more premium vehicles for higher fares, the rate paid to drivers within each tier remains the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even with its more premium services like Uber Black, riders have reported that some of the vehicles they’ve been transported in are often very old with high mileage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Uber Black driver with a one-year-old, well-maintained BMW 3 Series is paid the same rate as one with a five-year-old vehicle of the same model that may have been poorly maintained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is even more problematic in lower-tier services as these can often include cars with low safety ratings, such as the Hyundai Grand i10 and Suzuki Ertiga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hyundai Grand i10 recently made headlines for its poor safety rating, earning zero stars in global NCAP tests for adult occupant protection. The potential for disaster only increases if the vehicle is poorly maintained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disrespectful drivers, cancelled trips, and poor support<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Uber is facing a crisis in South Africa, with mounting user complaints about its high prices, shoddy vehicles, rude drivers, and trips being cancelled without explanation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uber South Africa has an average rating of 1.13 out of five stars on the consumer complaints website Hellopeter, based on 1,016 reviews submitted in the past year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are numerous complaints from users who were overcharged or double-charged and haven’t had satisfactory support from Uber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Got an Uber, paid in cash R462. The driver is an *** who stole part of the money paid, because I received an email stating that I have an outstanding balance of R280,” one user wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Sent emails to Uber for assistance, and they told me that they wouldn’t refund me because it’s not in line with their policy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another user reported being charged for a scheduled trip that never occurred. Uber cancelled their scheduled trip, but they were still charged for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other complaints have highlighted disrespectful and often threatening drivers. One user recalled a threatening comment from their Uber driver while on a trip with their minor son and grandson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Uber ride had been ordered for them by a family member, and after spending 25 minutes trying to find the car, the driver accused them of trying to waste his time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The son asked the driver to speak respectfully, to which he reportedly said, “You must not allow your son to speak like this to me, or else one day is one day.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I perceived this as a direct threat towards a child,” they wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The driver then took them on board but didn’t drive to their destination, instead returning to the pickup location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I feared for my life and requested to be let out of the vehicle,” they wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This behaviour was threatening, intimidating, and unsafe. I am requesting that this incident be urgently investigated to prevent harm to other passengers.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They added that the person who requested the ride reported it to Uber but hadn’t received any feedback as of 13 January 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It should be noted that, while there are numerous one-star complaints about Uber South Africa on Hellopeter, there are also some positive five-star reviews for particular drivers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Uber South Africa declined to comment about how it incentivises drivers to keep their vehicles well maintained.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341076,"featured_media":611072,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29366],"tags":[63589,102872,20853,40302,89686],"class_list":["post-625299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motoring","tag-e-hailing","tag-hyundai-grand-i10","tag-uber","tag-uber-south-africa","tag-uber-support"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625299"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341076"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=625299"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":625383,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625299\/revisions\/625383"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=625299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=625299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=625299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}