Ride Hailing Providers Plead for Looser Oversight

Aug 6 , 2022

Ride-hailing companies are calling on authorities to relax restrictions on the industry by allowing them to recruit drivers of vehicles with private "Code-2" license plates. An industry lobby group, which thus far has only two members (ZayRide and Wez), tabled the request during a discussion with officials from the Ministry of Innovation & Technology and other government agencies held at the Sheraton Addis last week. The Addis Abeba Transport Bureau, under Dawit Yeshitla, has recently begun stepping up its exertions to bring the capital's ride-hailing fleets under oversight three years after a failed attempt by municipal authorities. Thus far, no entity has been mandated to regulate the application-based taxi-hailing industry due to the lack of a legal framework. This began to change this year after the City Council legislated a proclamation granting the Transport Bureau the mandate. The new rules come as the number of ride-hailing platforms has doubled to nearly 40 over the past two years.