Apart from its iconic Olumo Rock and bustling traditional adire industry, one of the notable standouts of Abeokuta, a major city in Southwest Nigeria, is its paved roads and free-flowing traffic. Ideally, this should mean a cheaper cost of travel, but not for e-hailing drivers operating within the city.
My first order during a tour was from the Professor Wole Soyinka Train Station in Laderin to a location on M.K.O. Abiola Way. The total distance of the trip was 6.5 km, and the drive took less than 15 minutes.
The app displayed an estimated cost of N2200. When the driver appeared, he informed me that the trip would cost N6000, about 250% of the estimate. It took a repeated experience with two other drivers for me to realise that this was the norm and not an exception.
Eventually, I paid N4800 to the most enthusiastic and affable driver.
After all, I realised that this wasn’t an isolated experience. I paid about 200% of the app estimates for every trip. The most startling discovery is that it was an acknowledged and accepted norm among drivers and riders within the old city.
One of the drivers, Sanusi, Uber and Bolt’s pricing model for the city does not allow the drivers to make sufficient revenues to cover their operational costs. “I barely make N20,000 on an average day. And, I am expected to fuel the car, maintain it and take care of myself from that. This month alone, I spent over N80,000 on replacing shock absorbers alone”, he explained.
The other drivers that I interacted with corroborated his concern. Kadiri, an elderly driver, added that the pattern of requests across the city is a nuanced challenge that the ride-hailing companies neither understand nor are eager to resolve.
“Most times, when we take passengers to locations across the city, like the train station, we rarely get requests back or spend valuable hours waiting for a request. So, we need to calculate the fuel cost for driving to pick the passenger, to fulfil the ride and to return to the middle of the city in our costs because the app estimate will not do that”, he explained.
Similar: South African Uber, Bolt drivers’ union plans first ever nationwide strike
Bolt responds to the disturbing trend
Responding, Osi Oguah, Bolt’s General Manager in Nigeria, emphasised that Bolt does not support or condone any form of fare manipulation or off-platform negotiation by drivers.
“Our platform is built on principles of transparency, affordability, and trust, and riders are expected to pay the fare calculated and displayed by the app”, he explained.
When I suggested that the drivers should engage the ride-hailing companies for a fairer pricing model, another Abeokuta-based driver, Temitope, retorted: “We have engaged them through our union many times. They still go ahead with a pricing system that does not include our input, even though we will end up bearing the brunt of the whole thing.”
He bemoaned the helplessness of the drivers in the entire setup.
“It is sad that we still have to rely on the apps for customers. We do not have alternatives. That is why they are treating us like this. And that is why we have taken matters into our own hands. We hope that the customers will understand and pay a little more. If not, they are free to cancel.”
On his part, Osi noted that Bolt is aware of isolated reports in Abeokuta where some drivers attempt to renegotiate fares either during or after trip requests. He added that the behaviour is a clear violation of our community guidelines and terms of engagement for driver-partners.
Also, the GM noted that Bolt is taking steps to address the situation. These include educating drivers “through in-app notifications and training about the importance of fare compliance and platform integrity”.
He also encouraged riders to report such incidents through the app or via customer support.
Read also: Bolt says offline trips reduced by 42% in 3 months as it launches Public Safety Summit
Likely sanctions for erring drivers
Osi hinted that an ongoing platform monitoring has been instituted. “Our teams actively monitor feedback and patterns to flag areas where such activities are reported more frequently and take corrective actions”, he explained.
Verified cases may result in disciplinary action such as temporary or permanent removal from the platform.
Recall that Bolt suspended drivers for offline price negotiations in PortHarcourt recently. I asked Sanusi if he and the other drivers are not afraid of a reprisal from the ride-hailing companies. He told me that the bridge was crossed a long time ago.
“We have been at this for a long time. I am sure they are aware of how we operate in Abeokuta, by now. Nothing will change except the pricing changes. I can guarantee that”, he added.
A little pricing snag
A price comparison between the app cost for my trips in Abeokuta with similar distances in Lagos shows a sharp discrepancy in rates.
For example, my trip on Uber between Professor Wole Soyinka Train Station in Laderin to the Academy Suites on M.K.O. Abiola Way (6.5 km) has an estimated price of less than N1200, while a similar trip, between Muri Okunola Park in Lagos, has an estimated price of N4500.
While the differences may be excused by city-specific features such as traffic, state levies, the gap leaves a possible discontent that the cab-hailing companies need to address.
But, Bolt insists that it is ensuring a reliable and fair ride-hailing experience for both riders and driver-partners. “We encourage users to always report any suspicious behaviour so we can continue improving service standards across all cities”, Osi concluded.
Note: Technext reached out to Uber for their reaction to the story. We are yet to get an official response from the ride-hailing app after a considerable time. We will update the story with Uber's official response if there is any.
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