Drivers react to Bolt’s June 12 novelty football match, demand improved prices and reduced commission

E-hailing drivers have reacted strongly to a novelty football match organized for them by leading taxi-hailing company, Bolt, stating that such a game, while a laudable piece of Corporate Social Responsibility, is far from what drivers want from e-hailing companies at the moment. The drivers novelty match, according to Bolt, was aimed at strengthening the relationship between the company and itself.

While the company’s intentions seem lofty enough, the drivers for whom they have put together the event, do not seem very pleased. According to some of them, their relationship with the ride-hailing company will be better strengthened if the company could put measures in place to increase fares or reduce the commission they extract from drivers.

One driver, Ola, said: “In my own opinion, we don’t need a sponsored football match from Bolt, all we need is good price, insurance, HMO etc. If I need to play football, I know where to go.”

Ola’s opinion was reechoed by Dennis who insisted that it will be not short of a PR stunt if pertinent issues affecting drivers are not addressed. Referring to drivers who took part in the game he said: “Let them make sure that as they are scoring, they are also telling them to adjust their price upward and reduce commission, else they will lose their steeze here.”

Bolt currently charges a commission of 25 per cent a trip. Drivers are demanding a reduction to between 15 to 18 per cent which is what e-hailing drivers in Kenya pay.

But there are other drivers who believe it is not such a bad move as there is nothing wrong with a bonding initiative. Moreover, it doesn’t affect drivers demand for an industry where they are liberated from the control of the app companies. As another driver, Ajibola said:

“It is never too late to start a good initiative. The aim is what is paramount which is app companies bonding with their partners for the purpose of the partners having more liberty. If this aim is lost or missing in the course of the developing strand of relationship, then, the initiative will be effectively defeated.”

Bolt’s looking to reverse its dwindling popularity among drivers

Bolt is becoming increasingly less popular among e-hailing drivers. In a recent Technext poll conducted among drivers, the company emerged as the least popular platform out of the Big Three also comprising Uber and InDrive. The company is losing its popularity for a number of reasons, chief of which is its ‘acceptance rating’ system which it had recently scrapped. Other reasons are its reluctance to increase fare prices as Uber has done or reduce its commission.

POLL: Indrive is the most preferred app for Nigerian e-hailing drivers, Bolt falls lower

Bolt has therefore been engaging in a number of driver engagement events, one of which is the Drivers Novelty Match. The event which Bolt seems to want to make a yearly event, is themed “Building a Stronger Community”. With it, the company says it aims to strengthen the relationship between itself and its drivers, fostering a sense of partnership, demonstrating the platform’s commitment to their well-being, and recognising the instrumental role that drivers play in the ride-hailing ecosystem.

The company’s overarching strategy therefore appears to be bonding with enough drivers with the aim of building a large community of drivers loyal to its platform. This will certainly not sit well for drivers demanding improved prices for trips and reduced commissions because, to them, with initiatives like the novelty football match, the company is showing that it will continue to adopt a divide-and-rule tactic.

This is in a bid to garner sympathetic support and loyalty from independent drivers rather than dealing with collective demands from drivers under various umbrella bodies like the country’s approved e-hailing drivers union, the AUATON.

“Only time will tell if the bonding initiative did really build a loyal army of drivers for Bolt,” Ajibola said. “Only time will tell how effective this initiative turns out to be for Bolt on the one hand, and drivers demanding better prices and lower commission collected by Bolt, on the other hand.”