“Our service is a necessity, not a luxury” – inDrive drivers defend no AC in rides

As Nigerian e-hailing drivers grapple with torrid times and an increasingly competitive industry, they have evolved a new way of reducing their cost of operations: putting off air conditioning during rides. This is notably common with drivers operating on inDrive.

Recall that Technext reported an incident where a driver on the platform demanded air conditioning charges from a rider to put it on. This led to a scuffle between the driver and the rider.

This reporter personally took 3 rides on the platform last weekend, and two more during the week and can report that four of those five rides were without air conditioning.

Asked why, the drivers said it was because of the reduced fare offered by the app. One of the drivers, Sulaimon, described the app as an economy app which has become incredibly popular among Nigerians due to its low price offering.

“We are giving you people what you want,” Sulaimon told me. “inDrive is an economy app. Everybody is now using it because of the cheap price so we drivers don’t have a choice. But I can’t take a trip for this price and am still on AC. It doesn’t make sense. If it is on Bolt or Uber, I will on my AC because their price is still higher,” he said.

In a chat with Technext, inDrive’s Country Representative in Nigeria, Timothy Oladimeji, said while the company understands that it is the economic challenges pushing drivers to put off their ACs and wind down windows, he nonetheless pointed out that it remains a breach of their service agreement.

“We continuously educate our drivers and passengers on using the app to secure fairer deals while ensuring high-quality service. While economic challenges may explain why some drivers deviate from service agreements, it remains a breach of standards,” the country rep said.

inDrive has long emerged as the most preferred platform for riders, and by extension, drivers who naturally go where the customers are. This is so pronounced that Moove drivers who are supposed to operate exclusively on Uber often sneak into the inDrive app to get rides that have become scarce on other ride-hailing platforms.

See also: Moove reprimands driver for accepting rides on inDrive, amid ride shortage on Uber

Is inDrive riding the wave of market demand?

According to drivers, passengers hardly complain about the lack of air conditioning. This is especially so if there was no offline negotiation, a mechanism drivers developed to increase their earnings and meet their economic ends.

This is also particularly true as inDrive is currently offering the fares riders won’t get elsewhere. For example, a ride which costs N9,900 on Bolt has a recommended price of N7,100 on inDrive. This amount isn’t even up to the 8,200 naira offered on the economy class in Bolt.

These low prices remain the primary factor for riders owing to the present economic realities and the lack of air conditioning is a price they are willing to pay for it. Thus, it seems there is a tacit agreement; trade luxury for affordability.

One might expect that this market agreement is something inDrive would be happy to explore and possibly explore as an offering. Asked if this is possible, the country rep of inDrive, Oladimeji said while the cab-hailing company is happy to explore new opportunities, it is also committed to upholding standards and fairness.

“Our job is to ensure we provide an enabling environment that ensures fairness, and that’s what we are doing by rewarding drivers who abide by the working conditions, investigating situations where there are erring drivers and penalizing as appropriate either passenger or driver. We are happy to explore opportunities that the market presents but with an emphasis on ensuring the required standards and conditions are set, which is our primary job,” he said.

The harsh economic realities of Nigeria are ravaging the e-hailing sector. With limited dispensable income, people are reverting to commuting for purely transportation sake. e-hailing has always appeared as a means of commuting with comfort and luxury.

But with the scarcity of demands across e-hailing platforms, companies crashing prices to drive demand, drivers negotiating higher fees or putting off air conditioning in their bid to increase earnings, conforming to the present harsh realities such that it is no longer about luxury and comfort during trips but about the basics of getting people from one point to another.

The Nigeria representative said from their study and the kind of ‘audience’ they have, inDrive service has never been about luxury but about necessity.

“From our study, and a class of our audience, our services aren’t a luxury but a necessity for productive living and efficiency. We will not say it has ever been about luxury (air conditioning shouldn’t be classified as luxury, in my opinion), it has always been about delivering fairness in the most basic form to our target audience,” he said.

He also said the company is constantly upholding quality by actively supporting drivers who meet expectations.

“Our Platinum-tier drivers—those with high ratings and adherence to service agreements—enjoy exclusive discounts and perks from our partners to ease challenges that could impact service quality,” he said.

He also said the company maintains a strong feedback system where passengers can report issues. There is also a public rating system to inform future riders and a balanced pricing model that helps drivers earn well while delivering excellent service.

See also: inDrive kicks out Lagos driver for demanding extra money from rider for air conditioning