inDrive South Africa, in partnership with the TEARS Foundation, recently hosted a youth mobility training session aimed at building a culture of safety, respect and accountability for students and young commuters in South Africa.
The training focused on the practical realities young commuters face on South Africa’s roads and in public transport, including risks associated with unsafe routes, unfamiliar drivers, and online threats that can spill into daily life.
“Our goal is to make every journey safer for all commuters, especially young people and students, who are statistically more vulnerable to risks in transit, including accidents, harassment and gender-based violence,” said Ashif Black, CountryRepresentative for inDrive South Africa.
Beyond the visible tools, inDrive’s backend safety measures, such as AI moderation, profile verification, liveness checks, and complaint response systems, work continuously to block harmful behavior and enhance rider security.
Making journeys safer
Transport can present safety challenges for young people, especially women, who often face a higher risk of gender-based violence. This is why it’s important to create safer, more supportive mobility options. In 2024 alone, the TEARS Foundation fielded over 75,000 requests for assistance, underscoring the scale of the crisis and the urgent need for proactive safety measures. As such, in addition to personal safety measures, inDrive showcased its in-app safety tools, including the SOS button, Share Trip feature, Trusted Contacts, in-app calls to protect personal numbers and 24/7 support.
“Our mission is to give young people the knowledge and confidence they need to navigate transport safely, so they can move freely and with dignity,” said Mara Glennie, Founder & Chief Executive Office at the TEARS Foundation. “What’s more, when youth are informed and vigilant, they become powerful agents of change in their communities.”
The training reinforced that safety is a shared responsibility. Respect, accountability, and vigilance are values that protect both passengers and drivers, creating a safer transport ecosystem for everyone.
“We want young people using inDrive to feel safe, supported and in control,” said Black. “Young commuters face real risks on our roads and in public transport, and it’s critical they know how to protect themselves and each other.”
Africa Fact: On bling culture, one seventeenth century visitor to southern African empire of Monomotapa, that ruled over this vast region, wrote that: “The people dress in various ways: at court of the Kings their grandees wear cloths of rich silk, damask, satin, gold and silk cloth; these are three widths of satin, each width four covados [2.64m], each sewn to the next, sometimes with gold lace in between, trimmed on two sides, like a carpet, with a gold and silk fringe, sewn in place with a two fingers’ wide ribbon, woven with gold roses on silk.”
Africa Fact: Southern Africans mined gold on an epic scale. One modern writer tells us that: “The estimated amount of gold ore mined from the entire region by the ancients was staggering, exceeding 43 million tons. The ore yielded nearly 700 tons of pure gold which today would be valued at over $7.5 billion.”
Con Mammoth
Uzbekistan: You have two cows. They are probably less bored than you.
gothic slacker
Brazil: You have two cows. But not for long, because one shoots the other dead.