South African police are investigating the murder of a man whose remains were discovered in a burnt out Taxify vehicle in Pretoria, possibly the latest victim of a turf war between meter taxi drivers and their app-based rivals.
“Both the cause and motive behind the incident are still a subject of investigation … The identity of the deceased is yet to be confirmed,” police said in a statement.
Conventional taxi operators accuse the app-based drivers of poaching customers with cheaper fares.
A number of vehicles operated by Taxify, an Estonian start-up, and Uber have been torched in South Africa and police monitor hot spots including a commuter train station in Johannesburg’s upscale financial district of Sandton.
Uber operates in more than 600 cities and has faced protests in France, Brazil and Hungary, and its drivers have been threatened or attacked in Kenya, Costa Rica and Australia.
