The South Africa National Taxi Council (SANTACO) and the National Taxi Alliance (NTA) are behind the implementation of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) initiatives within the taxi industry.
The taxi industry is actively exploring automated functionalities such as cashless payment systems, which may facilitate future advances in autonomous transport.
International trends
Pony.ai is now the first autonomous driving firm to be granted a taxi license in China, allowing it to charge passengers for rides.
Toyota-backed Pony.ai’s driverless taxis are increasingly common on Chinese roads. The self-driving technology company has secured regulatory approval to operate its autonomous vehicles commercially.
James Peng, co-founder and CEO of Pony.ai, says, “Being China’s first autonomous vehicle company to receive a taxi license is a testament to Pony.ai’s technological strength and ability to operate robotaxi services.”
China’s Baidu another company in the autonomous taxi space is preparing to conduct driverless taxi trials in Switzerland.
Baidu has chosen Switzerland as it is considered an ideal location for European pilots due to its well-regulated transportation system and established reputation for safety, making it suitable for testing new technologies.
Elon Musk’s Tesla is also running tests on autonomous taxi rides in the United States of America.
In South Africa, there are currently no autonomous taxis rides pilot project in operation, and legislation does not permit fully driverless vehicles on public roads.
Despite autonomous vehicles gaining traction at an international level, concerns persist regarding potential job losses.
Theo Malele NTA spokesperson says it will be disastrous for the taxi industry if autonomous taxi rides are introduced in South Africa at this stage.
“We are not ready to welcome this form of public transport; it would be disastrous for the taxi industry – it will make the economy spin on its head. We have to consider a lot of factors such as repurposing or reskilling drivers who may lose their jobs – and how to integrate them into the digital economy.
“We also have to look at our road infrastructure, education system and the school curriculum to prepare for the new digital transport economy as part of the 4IR programme,” Malele cautioned.
South Africa may not have been identified as one of the countries to pilot the autonomous taxi rides but the country’s strategic importance to OEMs, particularly its robust taxi sector makes it difficult to ignore. It is matter of time before the autonomous taxi rides are introduced in the country as well.
