Subsidy removal: Ride hailing drivers commence nationwide strike, demand higher fares
By Ibiyemi Mathew
Drivers on e-hailing platforms of Uber and Bolt commenced a nationwide protest yesterday.
The drivers under the platform of the Amalgamated Union of App-based Transport Workers of Nigeria withdrew their services on the platforms while demanding for a review of the fares offered.
Our reporter who spoke to a Bolt driver in Ibadan, Mr Lateeef attributed the protest to the failure of Bolt to increase the base fares on the app.
He noted that the same price for a trip when petrol was sold at 189 is the same price still in effect on the app when the price of petrol has risen to N500.
He said, “We are not slaves but Bolt is making us slaves. They don’t help us maintain the car or fuel the car.”
Similarly, the union in a statement said the increase by the app-based firms stood between 25 to 30 per cent, which was far from the union’s demand for a 200 per cent increase, and a 50 per cent reduction in commission respectively.
The drivers, who said they could no longer work under these conditions, noted that they had previously appealed to the companies to reduce their commissions on the ground that they did not reflect industry benchmark commissions.
The statement read in part, “The union’s technical team is versed with the operation and technicality of ride-hailing companies and on our calculations, any app company can break even charging below five per cent even though the union recommended a flat commission of 10 per cent or 50 per cent off their current commission during our last meeting, as we believe this will help us to cope with maintenance costs, spare parts and various overhead cost and the current fuel increase.
“We can no longer tolerate any act of dictatorial practices by any app company because we are workers and as an organised union, we have written several letters to these companies for a roundtable discussion where we can look at various areas of concern and dialogue but they have remained adamant with a deliberate intention to avoid responsibility.
“So, as a result of this insensitivity, the union is directing all its members across the nation to shut down their service on all ride-hailing applications from Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in protest against every dictatorial practice and lack of concern for welfare and security of App-Based Transport workers of Nigeria.”
