Bolt and Uber drivers began a strike on Monday to demand an upward review of the fares charged by the service.
The e-taxi hailing company, Bolt, has maintained that its pricing template is favourable to drivers using the platform.
Femi Akin-Laguda, the Country Manager of Bolt, said in an e-mailed response to PREMIUM TIMES that the company values its drivers and is committed to their overall social and economic welfare.
“We invest the effort to collect, track and analyse the net revenues and total expenses of drivers utilising our platform. This includes analysing net earnings per hour on the platform across all cities we operate in,” said Mr Akin-Laguda.
“We invest in marketing incentives to boost drivers’ revenues. We also collect and track all other expenses incidental to the ride-hailing services provided – these include but are not limited to vehicle leasing/instalment costs, fuel, car wash, airtime and internet bundles. This analysis forms a significant part of our pricing strategy in every city,” Mr Akin-Laguda said.
Bolt and Uber drivers, under the umbrella of Professional E-hailing Drivers and Private Owners Association (PEDPA), began a strike on Monday to demand an upward review of the fares charged by the service.
Idris Shonuga, the PEDPA national president, while speaking on a radio programme on Monday, said it was unfortunate that drivers cannot determine the prices of their transport services.
“It is quite unfortunate with all these humongous responsibilities embedded in our service, we don’t have a say in the price of our service.
“We are telling Uber and Bolt that this is wrong. The price is ‘ridiculously low’ which is not part of our agreement, our initial agreement was N90 per kilometre, N10 per minute when fuel was at 95 per litre in 2015, not the new price of N60 per kilometre made without our consent,” Mr Shonuga said.
In his statement, Mr Akin-Laguda said Bolt will continue treating its drivers with respect, and keep an open-door policy for feedback to be provided.
“We have various communication and support channels that are always available for drivers on the platform to reach us at any time, any day and for any issue that may affect their operations,” he said.
– Premium Times