because they can

now then


some rather disturbing videos from my brother, look you see. and, as a consequence, something of a rare instance of a serious post on here.

it would be fair to say that one of the great business model disruptors of the last decade has been the rise of Uber. whilst i am sure you know what it is, for the benefit of clarity it's a system that allows virtually anyone with a car and driving licence to all of a sudden be a taxi driver.

much as was the case with the music industry and "the internet", the traditional taxi or transport industry was caught somewhat offguard by this. their solid, consistent business model was, for better or worse, challenged.

the notorious "taxi" system in South Africa has, it seems, elected to challenge right back. in an exceptionally aggressive way.

yes, that is what has been confirmed as an Uber registered car on fire, on a street. and not just any street, but the one in Sandton that one would find the Gautrain station on, as well as my former place of verk.

no, thankfully, my brother was nowhere near this, to be sure. a mate of his was, and took the video which you can see below. the images are ones i took from the videos.

see, i think i quite prefer the protests made here by the London cab drivers. they're quite well organized. mostly they hold marches and distribute information, in particular with regards to how many Uber drivers have criminal records. they also carry out patrols, ensuring that any Uber driver that does something illegal or otherwise not permitted to do is reported and, where safely possible, recorded doing so.

i think the angriest they get is when LBC or some other such radio station has a "what do you think about Uber" section. at such time the cabbies or their wives call in, all stating that Uber has cost them 40% of their business.

so far as i am aware none of them have thought to go around setting the cars of Uber drivers on fire. and i doubt they would. whilst it from time to time might not seem so, here in England for the most part there is respect for the law, and a wish not to cross lines best left alone. not so much in South Africa, then.

you can read a bit more on this here, although my apologies as it is a story on the tabloid / Metro wannabe News24 site.

other than being of a very high level, crime in South Africa tends to be of a brutal, barbaric, sickening and horrific nature. why? because they can. the perpetrators of crime in South Africa know there is little or no chance of the incompetent, inept and generally corrupt police force actually making arrests. and even then, in rare instances where arrests are made, court dockets end up "lost" before trials, or a release / escape is engineered.

the world at large, of course, does not care for this. no, all they want to know is that apartheid is at an end, that "blacks" are now as "free" as "whites", all thanks to those lovely pop records about it they bought. sadly, all that has come to replace a system which did need to be replaced is one marked by corruption, lawlessness and destruction.

it's with some interest i note that the police turned to deal with this. well, at the least to partially close a road and look like they were investigating. i note with interest in the videos and the stills that no one is actually trying to put the fires out. this would be despite all of the buildings around having fire extinguishers, and indeed the fire brigade building being literally around the corner from where this all happened.

a widely held suspicion is that the police own, control or get paid hefty bribes by the notorious, much despised taxi industry in South Africa. such would explain why the taxis can behave in such a lawless, dangerous way with little or no chance of being taken to task for it. with that, then, i very much doubt that the person or people who set the cars on fire are too worried about any sort of arrest in their near future.

how very sad.



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!