By a Correspondent
The City of Harare has launched an enforcement drive targeting popular e-hailing platforms, including InDrive, Bolt and Tap & Go, as it moves to bring app-based transport operators into the city’s regulatory framework and ensure they contribute to municipal revenue.
Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume said the council supported technological innovation but maintained that e-hailing operators should comply with the same transport regulations governing traditional taxis, buses and kombis.
“InDrive is a passenger-carrying vehicle, and passenger operators and other traditional taxis, traditional buses and traditional kombis have been complying,” Mafume said.
He said traditional operators had raised concerns over what they viewed as inconsistent application of the law between conventional public transport operators and e-hailing services.
“All e-hailing platforms are operating under the same law. There is no exceptionalism,” Mafume said.
However, he acknowledged that existing legislation had failed to keep pace with technological developments in the transport sector, creating uncertainty over how e-hailing services should be regulated.
“What is clear is there has been a legal lacuna in terms of how e-hailing services are handled in Harare and in Zimbabwe. Our law has not caught up with the innovation that comes with the e-hailing services,” he said.
The council’s enforcement operations against InDrive drivers have sparked criticism from some residents who rely on ride-hailing platforms for convenient and affordable transport amid persistent public transport challenges in the capital.
Critics have accused the council of focusing on revenue collection from formal e-hailing operators while failing to adequately address the proliferation of unlicensed and unregulated pirate taxis, commonly known as mushikashika.
The municipality is now consulting national government authorities and examining international regulatory models, including those used in South Africa, as it works towards developing a comprehensive framework for e-hailing services in Harare.
The proposed framework is expected to clarify the obligations of e-hailing companies and drivers while ensuring that the city benefits from the growing digital transport economy.
