Picking up strangers every day is hazardous because danger lurks at every corner for e-hailing drivers. Photo: Pexels
Careers can become stagnant, and you may feel unfulfilled in your path if you have to deal with variables beyond your control, such as an unsafe work environment, retrenchments, an unmanageable workload, mental health issues, and more.
But Spamandla Mdletshe* did not let any of these struggles define him and pushed for a better future.
Mdletshe, who is in his 50’s and lives in Pinetown, west of Durban, has spent the past two years working as an e-hailing driver for Uber.
The former project manager was forced to carve out a new career after financial issues hit the company he had worked for.
Faced with uncertainty amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, which put further pressure on him to provide for his family, Mdletshe stepped up to the plate.
“I used to manage projects for the government, especially RDP housing. We were offered a significantly lower amount of money than usual. The company decided that I should stay at home for a bit because it could not sustain my salary,” he said.
Mdletshe now works in the suburbs around Durban and with a strong work ethic, aims to earn over R1 000 a day. But he has to be constantly on guard because working as an e-hailing driver can be dangerous.
In June, The Mercury reported that robbers had posed as passengers to lure an unsuspecting Durban e-hailing driver to a pick-up location, then assaulted and hijacked him.
“An e-hailing driver’s services had been requested to collect passengers at that location, but when he arrived it turned out to be a set-up, and he was held up at gunpoint by an unknown number of suspects,” Marshall Security managing director Tyron Powell said.
Other e-hailing drivers have complained that they are regularly threatened with violence by taxi drivers who accuse them of stealing their passengers.
“There are certain areas where we can’t operate because of this. Around Durban, I avoid Ntuzuma, Inanda, Overport, and some parts of Sydenham.”
Pick-ups from some zones in the Pavilion shopping centre are also off limits as taxi drivers threaten to seize and impound vehicles with a release fee of R 3 000, said Mdletshe.
“Every career has its own unique set of risks and one must assess and adapt to the daily demands of the environment,” he said.
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