South Africa’s battle to regulate e-hailing platforms
This study submits that e-hailing platforms are an innovation which operate in an environment replete with disruption and obscurities that cannot be deciphered by existing regulations. It asserts that the absence of a legal framework predisposed to innovation is a source of tension between the South African transport legislation and e-hailing platforms. It further avers that the architecture of conventional regulations centred on the two-way relationship between the seller and buyer is inadequate to govern e-hailing business models because they insert the platform operator as a third party in the relationship. The study deploys a qualitative research methodology to acquire data from interview participants through a semi-structured interview process. Single case study research approach is utilised to produce a comprehensive understanding of this subject in its factual settings. Collated data is contextualised to the Uber e-hailing platform.