How to Join Uber in South Africa
Most people are eligible to drive with Uber, even if you don’t have a car. Here’s what you need to know if you plan to be driving Uberin Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth or Durban.
How to Join Uber as a Driver in South Africa
1. Get your Documents Ready
First of all, you will need to prepare a few documents that are essential for you to have before you become an Uber driver. These documents include:
A Professional Driver’s Permit (PDP), for the city in question
Must be a professional drivers permit
Must be a local PDP, no foreign PDPs allowed.
Ensure the expiry date is clearly visible in the scanned copy
Note –not required if you plan to hire a driver to drive for you
Operator Card
The Operator card is got from the licensing department (Double Disc)
Note –not required if you plan to hire a driver to drive for you
Receipt of Application for Operating License (Business Plan Application)
This is obtained from the DOT (Department of Transportation)
Note –not required if you plan to drive/work for someone else.
Commercial Vehicle insurance document (if you already have a car you intend to use)
You (driver) must be the holder, or at least a listed driver
Ensure the vehicle registration number is listed
Must clearly show a valid expiration date
Must show the type of insurance which should be commercial, commercial, with third party liability of 5 million Rand per year.
Vehicle Certificate of Registration (if you already have a car you intend to use)
This is used by Uber to verify the registration year of your vehicle
signup
2. Signup Online
Once you have all of these documents, the next step is to sign up through the Uber website – using our link: https://www.uber.com/za/en/drive/
3. Background Checks
Note-if you will not be driving the Uber vehicle, ignore this section and skip to STEP-4
Uber will typically take between 6 to 8 weeks to perform their background checks (using the AFIS security database). Specifically they will take the documents provided in Step 1, and do the following.
A Comprehensive Criminal Background Check
Note – as part of the qualification requirements for Uber in South Africa, you need to be medically fit, and also never had your driver’s license revoked at any point in time.
UberX
4 – Get an Uber Approved Car
UberX is the mid-tier cost Uber service, and it also gets the most patronage from Uber passengers across the globe for this reason. This is the category I would recommend starting out with.
However, if you want to go for one of the other categories which typically higher fares but fewer customers, then you can also go for UberBLACK or UberVAN. Just keep in mind that these services require more expensive cars/vehicles and are not as frequently used by the public.
UberX in South Africa: The requirements for UberX in South Africa are that you should have a car that is a model from 2006 or newer, has a minimum width of 1700mm and is an Uber approved UberX car (for example the Toyota Corolla/Quest, Hyundai Accent/Elantra, etc.)
Uber Black in South Africa: The requirements for Uber Black in South Africa are that you should have a car that is a model from 2012 or newer, has a minimum width of 1700mm and is an Uber approved Uber Black car (for example one of the higher end Audi, Mercedes Sedan or BMWs)
UberVan in South Africa: The requirements for UberVan in South Africa are that you should have a car that is a model from 2006 or newer. This vehicle needs to seat 7 or more people and also has to be an Uber approved vehicle (for example The Mercedes Vito)
If your car happens to qualify for more than one type of Uber service, then it is possible that you get requests from several categories, but you can choose to restrict yourself to one category if that is what you want. Personally, I believe that it would be best to accept all the requests, in this case, as it will earn you a higher income.
Note-if you are a driver looking to work for an existing Uber partner, ignore this section and skip to
As for the vehicle to use, you need to make sure it fits the car requirements specifically for Uber drivers in South Africa (or your specific city). Note – Uber has various services, so you should know which service you are interested in before buying a car (if you do not have one). See the section below on “Selecting an Uber Service” for more information on that. Some of these requirements include the fact that the car should be no older than 4 years (A model 2012 or later). The car should also have no major cosmetic damage.
Salvaged or rebuilt vehicles cannot be used, and full-size vans or marked vehicles such as taxis are a no-no, too. Also, note, whatever vehicle you get it will have to go through an Uber approved Vehicle inspection.
5 –Interview
Once you have completed the preceding steps, you will be able to go in to the Uber office for an interview, for which you should make sure you have sufficient street and route knowledge regarding your area/city. You should be dressed professionally for this interview.
If you pass the interview, you will be invited for a training session at a specific date, after which your vehicle’s documents will be checked, and you will officially become an Uber driver and/or Uber partner.
You will also receive an Uber-issued cell phone which will have the Uber application installed on it to allow you to get clients. However, if you wish to use your own smartphone, it is perfectly fine to return the cell phone.
6. Selecting an Uber Service
Select a car is which category of Uber you wish to work under.
7. Ride
Once the driver-partner has completed all these steps, they’re ready to hit the road.
Driver-partners who use the Uber app are totally free to choose if, when and where they accept rider requests; they are not forced to work a required number of hours or shifts. They are their own bosses, with the opportunity to use the Uber app to grow their own business as and when they want.
In addition to the afore-mentioned you have other costs like car maintenance, insurance costs, car depreciation, and uber royalties
