The residents and students of Stellenbosch call on our local Municipality and provincial leadership to urgently intervene and prevent the forced shutdown of our town’s micro-mobility scooter service.

The Municipality of Stellenbosch demanded that GoNow must cease all operations effective from Sunday 1st of March 2026. There is no legislative framework that governs or regulates the public use of e-scooters in the municipal area of Stellenbosch. The principle of legality is a fundamental rule of law ensuring that state actions, convictions, and penalties are based on pre-existing, clear legal authority.

Despite the Municipality’s stated intention to impound the scooters and shut down operations on 1 March 2026, no such action was ultimately carried out. The Municipality has, however, made it clear that it remains determined to terminate the service. This ongoing uncertainty, coupled with the persistent threat of enforcement, continues to prejudice the business, its employees, and its users, notwithstanding the absence of any present legal basis for impoundment.

GoNow attempted to resolve the matter by engaging in talks with the relevant department at the Stellenbosch Municipality, but to no avail. GoNow remains willing to positively work
together with the Municipality to address any user or public concerns and to ensure that the
business is operated in a responsible manner.

For more than three years, this locally operated service has provided a safe, affordable, and environmentally sustainable transport solution to our community. Over 30 000 people rely on these scooters, with more than 40 000 rides recorded in February 2026 alone. Thousands of students use them daily to commute to campus, work, and home - many expressing that they feel safer using scooters, particularly female community members, when travelling early in the morning or late at night.

The service has reduced traffic congestion, lowered carbon emissions, and provided a practical mobility alternative in a town already burdened by increasing vehicle pressure, whilst creating nearly 20 local jobs in the process.

An abrupt shutdown would:

• Remove a vital and affordable transport option overnight
• Force thousands of commuters back into private cars, worsening congestion and
  parking strain
• Increase emissions
• Eliminate local employment opportunities
• Undermine innovation, investment, and progress in our town
• Bankrupt the business

We support clear, fair, and enforceable rules. However, a complete shutdown without a regulatory framework punishes a responsible local business and the community it serves.

We demand an immediate interim framework from the Municipality of Stellenbosch that allows compliant operators to continue operating under clear rules while national legislation is developed.

We demand that the Municipality of Stellenbosch cease and desist with unlawful interference in the business operations of GoNow.

Stellenbosch is a forward-thinking university town. We should be embracing smart mobility solutions, not dismantling them. For more information visit our website at
https://gonowondemand.com/

Let Stellenbosch move forward - not backward.