The City of Cape Town is urging hail-and-ride customers and metered-taxi operators, including those using e-hailing platforms, to participate in the survey that will assist the Urban Mobility Directorate in determining the demand for and supply of these services across the city. The survey is available on a cellphone application that was developed for this purpose. The application is available for downloading from app stores right now with the closing date for participating on 17 October 2022.

The questionnaire, facilitated through the cellphone application, is intended for customers who make use of metered-taxis that are hailed at a rank or through a company, or e-hailing platforms such as Bolt, InDriver, and Uber; as well as for operators who provide these services, whether they have a legal operating licence or not. Also, the survey is anonymous.

All interested parties have until midnight on 17 October 2022 to download the app, and complete the survey.

The application is called CCT Transport Questionnaire, and is available for download from:

Google Play Store – https://bit.ly/cctquestplaystore

Apple App Store – https://bit.ly/cctquestappstore

Huawei App Gallery – https://bit.ly/cctquestgallery

Once the app is downloaded, the questionnaire starts off by asking whether the person participating is a customer, or an operator. After the participant has selected the applicable response, the appropriate questionnaire will follow for completion.

‘I am calling on all Capetonians who make use of these services to please download the app and participate in the survey. While we are of the view that the state should ideally not need to engage in trying to measure market demand, nor stipulating market supply, the current law requires that we follow a clear and transparent process to decide on the issuing of new operating permits by the Western Cape Provincial Regulatory Entity (PRE).

‘By participating in this survey you will help us determine how many operators Cape Town needs. Thus, customers will in the end benefit from telling us where the gaps are so that we can address these in a systematic and planned manner.

‘The questionnaire is aimed at informing us of the customer’s hail-and-ride experience. For example, participants are asked about their trip start locations, how long they usually wait for the operator to arrive, how often they travel and at what times. It should take about five minutes, if that long, to complete the questionnaire,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas.

As for operators, the City is calling on all metered-taxi operators – whether hailed at a rank or through a company, or e-hailing platforms – to complete the questionnaire.

‘When I met with the leadership of the Western Cape E-hailing Association on 18 August 2022, I made a commitment that the City would double its efforts to gather the data we need regarding metered-taxi and e-hailing services in Cape Town. We have responded by developing this application and questionnaires, and now we need operators to also do their part by participating.

‘The purpose of the questionnaire is to provide us with critical data to more accurately determine the factors to apply in whether the City can support the issuing of any new operating licences by the PRE.

‘The questions posed to operators focus on their operating hours, waiting times between trips, busiest and quietest times. The latter is important because the long-term sustainability of the industry is key. I am thus urging operators to please make use of the opportunity and complete this anonymous questionnaire so that we can attend to the licensing issue as a matter of urgency. The more data we collect, the better, as this will enable us to make an informed decision.

‘By working together we can create an operating model that is in the interest of customers and operators, and the businesses facilitating these services,’ said Councillor Quintas.

Caption: The City developed a survey to determine the demand for and supply of metered-taxi services across the city. The survey is facilitated on a cellphone application that is available for downloading from app stores right now. The closing date for participation is 17 October 2022. Once the app is downloaded, the questionnaire starts off by asking whether the person participating is a customer, or an operator. Once the participant has selected the applicable response, the appropriate questionnaire will follow for completion.

Source: City Of Cape Town