Many e-hailing ride drivers are quickly going out of jobs in Nigeria due to the growing decline of the country’s economy. According to the Amalgamated Union of App-based Transporters of Nigeria, they noted that many drivers have had to leave the business as investors pull out of Nigeria due to the poor economy.
During an interview with Punch, the spokesperson of the association, Jossy Olawale stated that investors were finding it challenging to continue coping with the increase in fuel prices and maintenance costs in the country.
He shared with Punch: “Now, some investors who bought cars and gave it to drivers are finding it hard to cope. They are selling out their cars and withdrawing from the business. This is reducing the numbers of drivers daily which is really affecting some of our members because many people are losing their jobs.
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“On our various platforms, we see people requesting cars because their car owners have withdrawn their cars as they cannot cope with the current situation. The issue is that once your car becomes faulty, the amount you had saved for three months may not be enough to repair it.”
Going further, Olawale told the publication: “That is why we have been calling on the government to support us with the alternative CNG that they have been talking about because we are the worst hit by the removal of subsidy and increase in the pump price of fuel.”
In the middle of the year, the association protested over the high commission rates set by Uber and Bolt despite the increase in petrol prices across the country that has dwindled their monthly revenue. They demanded that drivers be protected following attacks and killings in the country. Olawale noted that while it’s been over five months since the protest, nothing has been done to review the demands of the drivers while adding that the insecurity has in fact gotten worse.
He states: “
During the protest in June, we requested that there should be a reduction in our commission and increase in fare as well as the security of drivers because we don’t know the identity of the drivers. Up till now, there has been no significant change.
“When there are attacks on drivers, the application company, most times, conceals the data of the passengers. We’ve had a situation whereby there was an attack on a driver but there was no information about the passenger he carried before the attack.
“That is why we are calling for adequate data collection and the government should regulate this sector. The National Identification Number can also be utilized in this regard.”
As it stands, e-hailing app drivers are faced with several challenges in the country, as they not only have to deal with the poor economy leading to a significant decline in revenue but also a high risk of insecurity.
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