As part of this, the company believes it can create 300,000 earning opportunities on its Uber Moto service in South Africa over the next decade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We have seen a strong traction in new verticals over the past year,” said Deepesh Thomas, Uber General Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Moto, in particular, could become a core engine for transportation and e-hailing in South Africa over the next decade,” Thomas said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Uber Moto launched in South Africa in early 2025, initially operating in Johannesburg’s western suburbs, with rides starting at R18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While pillion-for-hire services are popular in certain African, Asian, and South American markets, they are generally used in densely populated areas with slow-moving traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South African driving skills and motorcycle riding experts have warned that the service has serious safety shortcomings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Motorcycle Safety Institute of South Africa founder and chief instructor Hein Jonker said people with common sense should consider the ride-type “foolish” and a “hard pass.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“There are just too many variables to address and too few laws or regulations to effectively manage such a programme. I can say with confidence it will fail,” Jonker said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It’s about making money; it is not about the life carried by an incompetent and underqualified rider in an
unsafe environment on a most likely incapable motorcycle.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Driving.co.za managing director Rob Handfield-Jones called the idea “absurd” when viewed in the context of South Africa’s high road death rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the new requirements for ride-hailing drivers under the National Land Transport Amendment Act, gazetted in September 2025, is that they must hold a professional driving permit (PrDP).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jonker and Handfield-Jones have maintained that merely possessing a PrDP did not guarantee a user’s safety. The PrDP does not require demonstrating any capabilities unique to motorcycle driving. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Specialised training should be mandatory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Uber-Moto--1200x675.jpg\")
Passenger riding pillion on an Uber Moto. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nJonker said that Uber Moto riders should undergo training specifically in carrying a variety of passengers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It takes a whole different mindset and skillset to safely carry another person on the back of a motorcycle,” he said. “They should be coached to handle a variety of scenarios.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These include mounting and dismounting, braking and turning, swerving, quick stops, briefing passengers on safety, understanding basic first-aid, and being capable of evasive procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another issue is the legal requirement in South Africa for riders and passengers to wear correctly-sized helmets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Handfield-Jones said there was no way in which the Uber moto riders could carry a selection of helmets to accommodate all possible head sizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“A considerable percentage of passengers would have no option but to wear an ill-fitting helmet in contravention of the law, and at considerable risk to their own safety,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, passengers had no way of knowing whether a helmet provided by an Uber Moto rider had not been dropped and damaged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“How many prospective paying motorcycle passengers are aware of this risk?” he asked. “Any serious motorcyclist knows that if you drop your helmet, its life is over.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In previous feedback to MyBroadband, Uber has insisted that Moto is a safe option for those seeking affordable rides. It said that users are provided with helmets and a guide on safe pillion riding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This includes correct mounting, dismounting, and helmet usage confirmation before each trip. However, it has not answered questions about how it can ensure a proper helmet fit for each rider. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Uber and its main rival, Bolt, have long been accused of “racing to the bottom” in South Africa in terms of service quality and safety as they aim to grow their user base to accommodate lower-income users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drivers on the services have complained of increased platform commissions and too many drivers being allowed to sign up, reducing the number of trip requests each driver can get. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Uber has doubled down on expanding its motorcycle-based ride-hailing service in South Africa, despite warnings from driving skills and road safety experts about significant safety issues with the service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341042,"featured_media":638215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29366],"tags":[104211,94827,94829,45867,34711,85617,20853,98758],"class_list":["post-638170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motoring","tag-deepesh-thomas","tag-hein-jonker","tag-motorcycle-safety-institute-of-south-africa","tag-motorcycles","tag-rob-handfield-jones","tag-south-africa-investment-conference-saic","tag-uber","tag-uber-moto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638170"}],"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\/341042"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=638170"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":638333,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638170\/revisions\/638333"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/638215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=638170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=638170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=638170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Jonker said that Uber Moto riders should undergo training specifically in carrying a variety of passengers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It takes a whole different mindset and skillset to safely carry another person on the back of a motorcycle,” he said. “They should be coached to handle a variety of scenarios.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These include mounting and dismounting, braking and turning, swerving, quick stops, briefing passengers on safety, understanding basic first-aid, and being capable of evasive procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another issue is the legal requirement in South Africa for riders and passengers to wear correctly-sized helmets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Handfield-Jones said there was no way in which the Uber moto riders could carry a selection of helmets to accommodate all possible head sizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“A considerable percentage of passengers would have no option but to wear an ill-fitting helmet in contravention of the law, and at considerable risk to their own safety,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, passengers had no way of knowing whether a helmet provided by an Uber Moto rider had not been dropped and damaged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“How many prospective paying motorcycle passengers are aware of this risk?” he asked. “Any serious motorcyclist knows that if you drop your helmet, its life is over.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In previous feedback to MyBroadband, Uber has insisted that Moto is a safe option for those seeking affordable rides. It said that users are provided with helmets and a guide on safe pillion riding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This includes correct mounting, dismounting, and helmet usage confirmation before each trip. However, it has not answered questions about how it can ensure a proper helmet fit for each rider. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Uber and its main rival, Bolt, have long been accused of “racing to the bottom” in South Africa in terms of service quality and safety as they aim to grow their user base to accommodate lower-income users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drivers on the services have complained of increased platform commissions and too many drivers being allowed to sign up, reducing the number of trip requests each driver can get. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Uber has doubled down on expanding its motorcycle-based ride-hailing service in South Africa, despite warnings from driving skills and road safety experts about significant safety issues with the service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341042,"featured_media":638215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29366],"tags":[104211,94827,94829,45867,34711,85617,20853,98758],"class_list":["post-638170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motoring","tag-deepesh-thomas","tag-hein-jonker","tag-motorcycle-safety-institute-of-south-africa","tag-motorcycles","tag-rob-handfield-jones","tag-south-africa-investment-conference-saic","tag-uber","tag-uber-moto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638170"}],"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\/341042"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=638170"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":638333,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638170\/revisions\/638333"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/638215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=638170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=638170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=638170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}