Uber has condemned clashes that occurred on Thursday night between its drivers and metered taxi-drivers in South Africa’s largest city of Johannesburg, local media outlet News24 reports.
According to the report, the ride calling-app confirmed that it was investigating the circumstances that led to the violence, saying it was relieved the driver of one of the torched cars escaped without injuries.
The Uber drivers retaliated after a group of men, believed to be operators of metered-taxis, poured petrol on Uber cars and set them alight.
The metered taxis are reported to be against the Uber vehicles operating in their turf.
South Africa National Taxi Council (Santaco) spokesperson Thabisho Molelekwa condemned the violence on both sides:
“We condemn any form of violence be it from the side of taxis or from the side of Uber drives. We cannot condone violence because the commuter will ultimately suffer,” he said.
Earlier this year, two Uber drivers were killed in separate incidents and their vehicles torched due to the turf wrangles.
The company expressed its concern over the attacks, but said it could not solve crime in the country. It however pledged to better the security features of their rides.
Globally, Uber has endured a tumultuous few months after a string of spontaneous attacks on its drivers caused widespread fear.
