- No e-hailing company in South Africa has managed to register to comply with the new e-hailing regulations in South Africa.
- The transition window for the new regulations will close in a month.
- The Department of Transport will consider an extension to the transition window to accommodate the platforms, though as yet, no decision has been made.
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E-hailing companies, including Uber and Bolt, are technically at risk of breaching South Africa’s new sector rules in a month, as none have finalised their registrations with the government yet.
Authorities, however, are expected to apply enforcement pragmatically.
In September 2025, the Department of Transport published new, much-anticipated regulations on e-hailing services in the Government Gazette.
The new rules will require operators to display branding on their vehicles, compel platforms to show more details about drivers to riders, introduce a separate licensing category for e-hailing permits, and require operators to maintain panic buttons in every vehicle, among other measures.
One of the key requirements introduced by the new regulations is that app companies, like Uber and Bolt, must register with the National Public Transport Regulator (NPTR) to comply with the new regime.
Having platforms register is important because it allows the regulator to verify compliance with the new regulations before allowing them to operate. It also appears drivers cannot proceed with licence applications under the new system until the platforms have been registered.
While the new regulations came into effect as soon as they were published, they provided a 180-day transition window to give the industry time to implement any required changes and become compliant.
But with one month to go before the 180-day transition window elapses, no e-hailing platform in South Africa has yet been registered.
A trusted source provided News24 with a slide from a Department of Transport presentation, which indicated that as of 6 February 2026, the NPTR had received 10 registration applications from e-hailing platforms.
Two of those applications were recorded as gazetted and ready for consideration, and none were recorded as registered.
Administrative delays and challenges in communicating application requirements appear to have delayed the process.
A document shared by the NPTR showed that publishing a notice of application in the Government Gazette is step three of seven for a platform seeking registration.
After the notice is gazetted, platforms must still arrange to meet with an adjudication committee, present a demonstration of the app’s functionality to the committee, await a decision, obtain a certificate if approved, and notify all provincial regulatory entities before they are registered.
In other words, the registration process is still likely to take some time for the platforms.
And time is running out.
By News24’s calculation, the transition window provided for in the regulations ends on 11 March 2026.
Bolt and Uber
One of the platforms currently undergoing the process is Bolt, which submitted its application to the NPTR on 27 November 2025.
Fikile Nzuza-Chunga, Bolt South Africa’s senior public policy lead, confirmed that the platform’s submission has been published in the Government Gazette and said it is awaiting an opportunity to present to the NPTR committee.
Nzuza-Chunga said that compliance and enforcement must be understood “in light of the transitional provisions and the current administrative realities”.
“Bolt does not support punitive enforcement against drivers or operators where regulatory processes are not yet fully operational and continues to engage with regulators to ensure that implementation is fair, practical, and consistent with the intent of the regulations,” she said.
She said that Bolt’s understanding is that there will be a separate 180-day transition window for drivers to undertake the procedures necessary to make their licences compliant with the new rules.
Drivers, in Bolt’s understanding, cannot start the process of making themselves compliant with the new rules until the platforms that they ride for have been registered.
An Uber spokesperson also confirmed to News24 that the company has applied for registration as a platform provider with the NPTR.
The spokesperson said that the company had been engaging with authorities to ensure compliance.
“Our focus remains on supporting a smooth and practical transition that protects both rider safety and driver livelihoods. We are working closely with government and industry stakeholders to align on implementation processes, provide guidance to drivers, and help ensure that the new system is introduced in a way that is efficient, consistent and sustainable.”
Leniency
Transport spokesperson Collen Msibi suggested that the department would exercise leniency if there had been issues with registering the platforms.
“In the case where there are issues with the app companies being registered, I think we need to be realistic. We do not obviously want to have the operators illegally in the country because the companies have not registered,” he said.
He acknowledged that the timelines for some of the registration steps, including testing the app for compliance with South Africa’s communications regulator, were beyond the control of platform companies or authorities.
He said that the Minister of Transport would make any decision to extend the registration window in consultation with the NPTR.
“As it is, the date still stands, and I think an assessment is being made as to whether we will be able to deal with it by the deadline. If not, I think it may be necessary for the minister to reconsider the date on the advice of the regulator,” he said.
News24 also directed questions to the NPTR but was informed that the Department of Transport would handle them.
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