• Abuja e-taxi hailing drivers lament high commission, low fares, costly fuel
From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
e-hailing cab drivers operating in the Federal Capital territory (FCT), Abuja, are frustrated. They are facing a plethora of challenges capped by expensive petrol, currently sold at N617 per litre.
Top on the list of their woes is the scathing commission charged by the e-hailing app owners (virtual taxi companies) like Uber and Bolt.
They alleged that the online taxi firms have not carried out a commensurate upward review of their fares to reflect the harsh economic realities, yet continue to pepper them with high commissions.
“It’s a double whammy of high commissions in an era of costly petrol amid low fares. It’s a death knell if you ask me. It is unrealistic and that is why we’re totally frustrated if not depressed.
“We need the online taxi firms to do the needful by adjusting our fares and crashing their commission. They should let e-hailing taxi drivers breathe.” A driver who craved anonymity told Daily Sun.
However, push came to shove penultimate week when the digital application-based drivers, armed with placards, stormed the streets to protest what they referred to as extortion by online taxi companies who keep on charging them exorbitant commissions despite the sharp rise in fuel prices.
Mr. Emeka Njoku, a driver, said: “The increase in fuel price has reduced the frequency of orders for rides that we get. Take for instance, someone who is receiving N80,000 as salary and lives in Mpape and who goes to work in Maitama. He or she must have been paying between N1,000 and N1,200 to the office. Round trip fare would be around N2,400.
“But now, from that same Mpape to Maitama is about N2,000 to N2,200.
That is about N4,000 for a round trip. Meanwhile, the salary remains the same. Many people have had to adjust by taking ‘along’ or public buses to cut costs. A lot of people now use Bolt or Uber only on occasions when they are late or have important meetings to catch up with.
“It is really affecting our turnover even though the fares have been slightly adjusted upwards, that increase in price fare also reduced the number of customers who were using the apps before now. If I used to do like 20 trips a day, which is 12 to 15 hours drive, these days I now record between eight to 10 trips as the case may be.
“The fare was increased by 100 per cent, but fuel price was increased by 300 per cent. We begged them to reduce their commissions from 25 per cent to maybe 15 per cent so as to achieve balance on both sides but they refused.
“You now find out that I now earn more, for instance, in a week I make between N180,000 and N200,000 as against N100,000 to N110,000 I used to make, but 25 per cent which is constant is still taken out of that money by the apps.
“We are not gaining much. You are seeing the bulk money, but when you go back to the filing stations, instead of refilling your vehicle’s tank with N11,000, you cough out N33,000 to get a full tank. It’s not easy for us one bit.”
Another driver, Yusuf Muhammed, groaned: “The fuel price increase has affected us in a very negative way. I think the problem is with the app companies. They don’t want to do the right thing. They made some adjustments to their price, but it does not match up with the current fuel price.
“Secondly, they have refused to bring down their commissions. If they do that, it will make things a little easier because this removal of fuel subsidy has really affected our business.”
Paul Anijahobi said: “It is not fair that we (the drivers) are made to bear all the burden of the fuel subsidy removal. The hardship is on everyone. Since there is serious unemployment, what can we do?
“I used to buy a full tank at N12,000 or N13,000, now that amount can barely get me half a tank. And after fuelling my car at that amount, I make about N25,000 or N30,000 on a good day. Some days, I fill that half tank at N12,000 and I don’t even make up to N15,000.
“The problem is there is a hike in fuel price but the fare on the Bolt app does not reflect it. We want them to reduce their commission. It is not fair that the drivers are solely bearing the brunt of the subsidy removal.
“They should bring it down to 10 or 15 per cent. These app companies do not buy cars for us. They do not service the car for us nor do they fuel it. We are paying a whopping 25 per cent to them. Reducing the commission will only be fair to everyone.
“Prices of cars and cost of maintenance have tremendously increased.
We are not working for them we are partners. If you are a partner to somebody, there should be mutual benefits. The interest of both sides should be protected.
“I know that they have bills to pay, they need to service their server and some other things, but for the time frame, if they can please help us reduce the commission to at least 15 percent. So that there will be a balance.”
President, Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transport Workers (AUATWON), Adedamola Adeniran spoke on behalf of his colleagues:
“Much is expected from app companies who charge between 20 and 25 per cent commission fees and have refused to sit at the table of negotiation with workers, much is expected.
“Much is expected from the oppressors of workers who despite the removal of subsidy, which has caused the increase in the price of fuel and have failed to meet the demands of workers.
“Much is expected from Uber and Bolt that have woefully failed to protect the safety of workers by collaborating with government and the union to set up risk management systems that will prevent harm workers face on the job, much is expected.
“During this period, app companies are expected to initiate a discussion for negotiation and dialogue on the listed demands, by responding to our demands through the submission of a letter to the Federal Ministry of Labour (both offices of the permanent secretary and the registrar of trade union), and copying AUATWON and the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).
“We also purport that it is important for government in taking responsibility for mediating the process and organising the venue, date and time for the dialogue.
“We believe that to whom much is given, much is also expected. In view of this, we iterate that we have given much of our services to your companies to survive.
“It has only made the CEOs of these companies richer while workers continue to get poorer. We say enough is enough. We demand the liberty of workers.”
Giving an update on the matter via a phone conversation, Adeniran said they had engaged Director, Industrial Relations, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, to set up a meeting for negotiations between the union and the e-hailing companies.
Daily Sun got no response from the online taxi companies, Bolt and Uber, when enquiries were sent to their email addresses and verified Twitter handles. Also, efforts to get their contact details or reach them via their websites and mobile apps were futile.
President of AUTWON, Adeniran, the spokesperson, Jossy Pedpa, and other Bolt drivers spoken to could not provide reachable contacts of the e-hailing companies either.
Mr Felix Nwobi, a Bolt driver, lamented: “That is one of the problems we are having. We do not have any means of easy access to them. You can only send mail to them, which they may not respond to because it’s global. We don’t have any phone number to reach them.”
Njoku, another driver added: “The phone number of the Bolt I have no longer connects. My colleagues are complaining that they cannot reach them through that line. They used to have an office around Mabushi but it has been shut down. I don’t know why. I don’t have any means of really reaching them.”