Terms of Use for Travellers

Zuttle (Pty) Ltd

Driving for an operator? Read the Driver App Terms of Use.

1. About these terms

These terms are an agreement between you and Zuttle (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2026/320705/07), a private company registered in South Africa, of 179 Mackenzie Street, Brooklyn, Pretoria, Gauteng, 0181 ("Zuttle", "we", "us"). They apply when you use the Zuttle app, your Zuttle account on zuttle.io, or book transport through either.

Please read them. Clauses in bold limit our liability, place risks on you, or require you to do something. Read those with special care. By ticking the box at signup, or by making a booking, you accept these terms, our Privacy Policy and our Cancellation and Refund Policy.

Nothing in these terms takes away a right you have under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA), the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (ECTA) or any other law that cannot be excluded by agreement.

You can download, save and print these terms from zuttle.io/terms at any time. The version and date are at the top.

2. What Zuttle does, and what it does not do

2.1 Zuttle is a booking platform. We do not provide transport. We list licensed transport companies ("operators"), show you their prices, take your booking and collect payment for them.
2.2 The operator named on your booking supplies the transport. Your contract for the trip itself is with that operator. The operator is responsible for the vehicle, the driver, its licences and insurance, and for carrying out the trip safely.
2.3 We act as the operator's booking agent and payment collector. When you pay through Zuttle, you pay the operator, through us. Payment to Zuttle settles what you owe the operator for that booking.
2.4 What we do promise: to run the platform with reasonable skill and care, to show you the correct operator, price and booking rules, to collect and pass on your payment correctly, to apply the cancellation rules fairly, and to check the documents described in clause 2.5.
2.5 Checks on operators. Before an operator is listed for charters, we check its passenger liability insurance, the operating licences of its charter vehicles, and that it has at least one driver with a verified professional driving permit (PrDP). When the operator assigns a driver to your charter, we check that driver's PrDP, which must be valid until the end of the charter. Our checks are of documents. We do not inspect vehicles or supervise drivers, and we cannot guarantee that a document remains valid after we check it.

3. Your account

3.1 You must be 18 or older to open an account. A child may travel as a passenger on a booking made by an adult, who is responsible for the child during the trip.
3.2 Give us true, complete details and keep them up to date. One account per person.
3.3 Keep your password and devices secure. Tell us at once at support@zuttle.io if you think someone else has used your account. You are responsible for bookings made from your account unless you told us it was compromised before the booking was made.
3.4 If you book for a company or other organisation, you confirm that you may bind it, and these terms bind both you and it.

4. Booking

Each type of booking ("lane") works a little differently. The booking screen always shows the operator, the price, what is included, when you pay and the cancellation rules before you confirm.

4.1 Charters

4.1.1 You enter your trip (stops, dates, party size, purpose) and we show prices from operators who can do it.
4.1.2 You send a request. Nothing is charged yet; we only check your card. The operator must accept or decline by the reply deadline shown.
4.1.3 The booking is binding once the operator accepts and the first payment succeeds. We then confirm it to you.
4.1.4 The price shown is the full price for the trip as described: the hours, distance and stops you entered. Tolls, extra distance or extra time that you ask for during the trip are charged only as shown on the booking screen. Where an operator shows a "from" price, the screen states the most you can be charged, and you will never pay more than that.
4.1.5 Charter prices are for passenger transport only. We do not sell catering or other extras with a charter.

4.2 Pre-booked trips

4.2.1 You choose a pickup, a drop-off and a time, and either an operator or let the operators bid.
4.2.2 The booking is binding once an operator accepts it. Until then you can cancel free of charge.
4.2.3 The fare shown when you book is the fare you pay, unless you change the trip.

4.3 Scheduled seats

4.3.1 You buy one or more seats on a scheduled departure.
4.3.2 The booking is binding once your payment succeeds. Your booking covers the number of seats shown, under your name.
4.3.3 Be at the departure point before the departure time. The vehicle may leave on time without you.

4.4 On-demand rides

4.4.1 On-demand rides are available only where and when we switch them on in the app.
4.4.2 Before you request, we show an estimated fare. After the ride, we send you the final fare. You can see the driver's name, photo, vehicle and licence plate before the ride.
4.4.3 The booking is binding once a driver accepts your request.

4.5 Our right to decline or withdraw

We may refuse a booking, or withdraw a lane, area or operator from the platform at any time, for example for safety, legal or technical reasons. If we cancel a confirmed booking for any reason other than your breach of these terms, you get a full refund.

4.6 Group bookings

If you book for a group, you are responsible for making sure the group knows the trip details and follows clause 7. You are the person we deal with about the booking.

5. Prices

5.1 Prices are in South African rand and include everything you must pay for the trip as booked, unless the booking screen says otherwise.
5.2 Fares are for passenger transport by road and are exempt from VAT (Value-Added Tax Act, section 12(g)). Your receipt therefore shows no VAT.
5.3 Zuttle does not charge travellers a separate booking fee.
5.4 If we show a price that is obviously wrong (for example R15 for a 60-seat coach for a day), we will tell you and you may either accept the correct price or cancel free of charge.

6. Payment

6.1 Payments are processed by Paystack (Paystack Payments South Africa (Pty) Ltd). You enter your card details on the processor's own secure page. We never see or store your full card number. For a saved card we store a card token, the card brand, the last four digits, the expiry month and year, the name on the card and any nickname you give it.
6.2 Holds. For some bookings we place a temporary hold on your card when you book and take the actual amount when the trip happens or when the payment is due. Your bank controls how long a released hold takes to disappear.
6.3 Saved cards and charges after you book. When you save a card and use it for a booking, you authorise us to charge that card, for that booking, the amounts and on the dates shown on the booking screen, even if you are not using the app at that moment. For a charter, this means the deposit when the operator accepts and the balance 24 hours before the start. We tell you before and after each such charge. We do not charge a saved card for anything else without your consent.
6.4 If a payment fails, we tell you and give you a deadline to pay. If you do not pay by then, the booking may be cancelled under our Cancellation and Refund Policy.
6.5 Tips are optional. A tip goes to the driver, less the card fee: no commission or operator share is taken from it. Zuttle pays it to the driver's operator, which passes it on to the driver.
6.6 Receipts. We email you a receipt for each payment. It names the operator as the supplier of the transport and Zuttle (Pty) Ltd as its booking agent and payment collector.
6.7 Chargebacks. If you dispute a card payment with your bank, please contact us first so we can try to resolve it. A chargeback does not cancel any amount you owe under our Cancellation and Refund Policy.

7. Cancellations and refunds

Our Cancellation and Refund Policy sets out, for each lane, what you pay if you cancel, what happens if the operator cancels or does not arrive, and how refunds work. It forms part of these terms. In short:

7.1 You always see the rules, in rand, before you book.
7.2 Cancelling before an operator accepts is free.
7.3 If the operator cancels, you get a full refund.
7.4 If you cancel because the person the booking was for has died or been hospitalised, you pay nothing once we have seen proof (CPA section 17(5)).
7.5 A cancellation never creates a new charge. The fee is never more than the amount paid or held for the booking.

8. Your conduct on a trip

8.1 Follow the driver's reasonable instructions about safety, wear a seatbelt where one is fitted, and do not carry more people or luggage than you booked.
8.2 Do not behave in a way that is abusive, threatening, discriminatory, illegal or unsafe, or that damages the vehicle. Do not carry anything illegal or dangerous.
8.3 A driver or operator may refuse to carry, or stop carrying, anyone who breaks these rules or puts others at risk. If that happens because of your conduct, the trip counts as a cancellation by you.
8.4 Damage. If you or your group damage a vehicle, the operator may claim the cost from you directly. Zuttle will not charge your card for damage without your express consent.
8.5 Lost property. Tell support or the operator as soon as possible. We will put you in touch with the operator, who keeps found items. We are not responsible for items left in a vehicle.
8.6 Do not contact drivers or operators outside the platform for reasons unrelated to your booking, and do not arrange to pay an operator outside Zuttle for a trip you found on Zuttle.

9. No cooling-off period

The 7-day cooling-off right in section 44 of ECTA does not apply to bookings on Zuttle, because they are for transport on a specific date or within a specific period (ECTA section 42(2)). Your cancellation rights are in our Cancellation and Refund Policy. Your rights under the CPA, including section 17, still apply.

10. Ratings and reviews

10.1 After a trip you may rate the operator and write a review. Reviews must be honest, about your own trip, and must not be abusive, defamatory, discriminatory or contain anyone's personal details.
10.2 Reviews are public on the operator's profile. A public review shows your first name and the first letter of your surname, the rating, the comment and the trip date and type, but not the addresses. The operator sees your full name and the trip's pickup and drop-off.
10.3 You allow us to show, store and use your review on the platform for as long as the operator is listed. We may remove a review that breaks clause 10.1. We do not edit reviews, and we do not let operators pay to remove them.
10.4 Drivers rate travellers too. For an on-demand ride, the driver sees your rating and the number of trips you have taken. For a pre-booked trip, the operator sees them when it decides whether to accept your request. See our Privacy Policy (section 7) for what operators and drivers see in each type of booking. If your rating or behaviour gives us safety concerns, we may restrict your account under clause 13, and we will tell you why and let you respond.

11. Using the platform

11.1 We give you a personal, non-transferable right to use the Zuttle app and website for booking transport. The software is owned by JJC Transport Technologies (Pty) Ltd and licensed to Zuttle. The Zuttle name, brand and content belong to Zuttle (Pty) Ltd.
11.2 Do not copy, scrape, reverse-engineer or interfere with the platform, create fake bookings or accounts, or use it for anything unlawful.
11.3 We work to keep the platform available, but it may sometimes be unavailable or contain errors. We will fix errors we know of within a reasonable time.

12. Liability

Please read this clause carefully. It limits what Zuttle is responsible for.

12.1 The operator is responsible for the trip. Because the operator supplies the transport (clause 2), claims about the trip itself, including the vehicle, the driver's conduct, delays on the road, accidents and injury during the trip, are claims against the operator and its insurers. Operators listed for charter must hold passenger liability insurance.
12.2 Zuttle is responsible for its own part: the booking, the information it shows you, payment collection and refunds, and the checks it says it makes. If we fail in those, you may claim from us.
12.3 Limit. Except as set out in clause 12.4, our total liability to you for any one booking is limited to the greater of the total price of that booking and R5,000, and we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss (for example a missed flight connection or lost business) unless it was a reasonably foreseeable result of our breach.
12.4
Nothing in these terms limits or excludes Zuttle's liability for:
1. death or personal injury caused by the negligence of Zuttle or anyone acting for it;
2. loss caused by the gross negligence, wilful misconduct or fraud of Zuttle or anyone acting for it (CPA section 51(1)(c));
3. any liability that the CPA or another law does not allow us to limit.
12.5 Nothing in this clause limits your rights against the operator.

13. Suspension and ending your account

13.1 You may close your account at any time in the Zuttle app under Settings, Delete Account. The app will ask you to cancel any booking in progress or coming up first. You can also ask at zuttle.io/delete-account.
13.2 When you delete your account, we remove your name, contact details, saved places, cards and photo. We keep booking, payment and receipt records without your identity, because company and tax law require it. Our Privacy Policy and zuttle.io/delete-account explain exactly what is kept and why.
13.3 We may suspend or close your account if you seriously or repeatedly break these terms, if we reasonably suspect fraud or a safety risk, or if the law requires it. Unless there is an urgent safety or legal reason, we will tell you first and give you a chance to respond. If we close your account, any confirmed booking is refunded in full unless you are in breach.

14. Your personal information

Our Privacy Policy explains what we collect, including location, why, who receives it (including the operator and driver for each booking), and your rights under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013. Our PAIA manual is at zuttle.io/paia.

15. Complaints and disputes

15.1 Tell us first. Email support@zuttle.io with your booking code. We will reply within 5 business days and try to resolve it within 20 business days, together with the operator where the complaint is about the trip.
15.2
If you are not satisfied, you may refer the complaint to:
- the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO), www.cgso.org.za, 0860 000 272;
- the National Consumer Commission, www.thencc.org.za; or
- a court with jurisdiction, including the small claims court.
15.3 Complaints about how we handle personal information may go to the Information Regulator (see the Privacy Policy).

16. Notices

We send notices to the email address on your account, or in the app. You can send notices to support@zuttle.io. Our address for legal documents is 179 Mackenzie Street, Brooklyn, Pretoria, Gauteng, 0181.

17. Changes to these terms

17.1 We may change these terms, for example when we add a feature or the law changes. For a change that affects you materially, we tell you at least 14 days before it takes effect, by email or in the app. If you do not agree, you may close your account before then.
17.2 A change never applies to a booking you have already made. The terms in force when you booked apply to that booking.

18. General

18.1 South African law governs these terms.
18.2 If a court finds any part of these terms invalid, the rest stays in force.
18.3 If we do not enforce a right straight away, we have not given it up.
18.4 You may not transfer your rights under these terms. We may transfer ours to another company in our group or to a buyer of the business, if your rights are not reduced.
18.5 These terms, the Cancellation and Refund Policy, the Privacy Policy and the booking details shown when you book are the whole agreement between you and Zuttle about the platform.

Contact

Zuttle (Pty) Ltd, registration number 2026/320705/07
179 Mackenzie Street, Brooklyn, Pretoria, Gauteng, 0181
support@zuttle.io | 087 265 7250 | zuttle.io