Uber and Bolt - Afrikan Heroes

How Africa’s Uber and Bolt Drivers are Confronting their Platforms

April 26, 2021

Since Uber lost a class-action lawsuit in the UK; the Supreme Court ruled that its drivers were employees, not independent contractors, and were entitled to minimum wage, holiday pay and pensions plans, there have been a flurry of confrontations across the world as other drivers are rising against the platforms. In South Africa, Uber drivers are set to file a similar class-action lawsuit against the ride-hailing giant. They’re being assisted by Leigh Day, the law firm that, to get this, also represented Uber drivers in the UK.

The demands by Uber drivers in South Africa and the United Kingdom are similar: classify us as employees. However, in South Africa, Uber seems to have already weakened its case significantly.

In 2020, during a Competition Commission Inquiry the company acknowledged that, due to factors like income disparity and high rates of unemployment, South African drivers are unlike gig workers in the USA in that they usually have to work full-time and often drive vehicles they don’t own.

By the way, this is also true for drivers in many other countries around the continent.

In the final analysis, driving for ride-hailing companies is often marketed as an opportunity to be self-employed, “be your own boss” and that sort of thing. But while these companies promise autonomy, on the one hand, they use technology to tightly control, monitor and evaluate their drivers on the other.

And that’s the crux of both class-action lawsuits. If ride-hailing companies want to control drivers like employees, drivers are demanding to be compensated like them. Citing the UK case, drivers in Nigeria are filing a lawsuit of their own against Uber and its main competitor, Bolt.

These cases are now trickling in, while frequent strikes and protests provide the backdrop. In SA, the latest protest against ride-hailing companies was held last month. In Nigeria, there were protests last week. While in Kenya, there are fresh protests scheduled for next month.

The ride-hailing industry is still in its infancy, with no big player, not even Uber, currently making a profit. Acceding to driver demands will, therefore, only deepen the losses.

The problem is with the business model: ride-hailing companies are often drawn into price wars where the winner is not them or the drivers, but the customer. As more countries in Africa and across the world assess what happened in the UK, those questions will get more, not less.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Why Uber and Bolt Drivers in Lagos Embarked on Strike

April 20, 2021

Drivers of two of the leading ride-hailing platforms in Lagos Uber and Bolt, have commenced a strike action to demand for better remunerations and working conditions. The drivers, under the umbrella of the Professional E-hailing Drivers and Partners Association (PEDPA), downed tools today to force the two biggest players in Nigeria’s ride-hailing industry that have competed since their entrance into the Nigerian market in 2014 and 2016 respectively to redress the working conditions.

One of the ways they have competed is with pricing, with each operator giving promos and lowering fares to try to win over new customers. Yet, over the years, there have been claims that the pricing wars came at the expense of drivers.

Now Uber and Bolt drivers in Nigeria want the pricing to be reviewed because the prices are no longer reflective of the costs they put in. They also want both companies to reduce the commission charged on rides from 25% to 10%. PEDPA says that it has written letters to Uber and Bolt about their concerns but has received no response. To press home their demands, the drivers will begin a one-week warning strike today with hopes that both companies will come to the table.

According to Idris Shonuga, the National President of PEDPA, an association that was formed in 2019 and affiliated with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria, “what they (Uber and Bolt) do is deploy an app which facilitates links with riders and they charge a commission. We bear the running costs of fuelling the car and take all the associated risk of managing and running our vehicles.”

“Unfortunately, they fail to give us a say, they keep fixing the price ridiculously low and we’re selling below the cost price.”

Shonuga argues that it has become almost impossible for e-hailing drivers to make a living driving for Bolt or Uber because while inflation is driving prices upward, the cost of the service has remained static.

“You’re seeing several accidents on Lagos roads because drivers are overworking themselves to make very little money; this is systemic slavery of Nigerian youth, many of who are driving because of unemployment.”

According to Shonuga’s analogy, for Uber and Bolt drivers to make ₦15,000 ($36) in revenue daily, they have to spend a minimum of 10 hours on Lagos roads. Shonuga also estimates that ₦4,950 ($12) will be used to fuel their cars and then Uber or Bolt will charge ₦3,750 ($9.10) in fees. After 10-15 hours of work, drivers may be left with around ₦6,300 ($15.29), which at the lowest end is ₦630 ($1.53) for every hour they work.

But it gets worse when you consider that many of the drivers on these platforms get the cars they use through hire-purchase agreements that require them to pay ₦20,000 – ₦30,000 ($48.55 – $72.82) per week.

The drivers say these conditions are unfavourable and want ride-hailing companies to give them a seat at the table in making decisions on pricing. They also want these companies to reduce the commission on rides to 10%.

Responding to the claims, the Country Manager for Bolt, Femi Akin-Laguda said that Bolt is constantly evaluating our operations to ensure we continue to provide the best earnings for drivers on the platform even as we still remain the most preferred platform for passengers.

Therefore, our commitment remains to treat drivers on the platform with respect, keeping an open-door policy for feedback to be provided. Also, 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.”

Uber on the other hand noted that they are “aware of a protest taking place today by a small group of e-hailing drivers, resulting in slightly longer waiting times for riders. We respect driver-partners as valuable partners with a voice and a choice and we want them to know that we are always open to their feedback.”

“It’s however important to note that diver-partners are diverse in how they use the Uber app and it would be difficult for an individual or group to holistically represent every driver on the app.”

Away from fees, another important demand PEDPA has is for drivers who have been blocked by both platforms to be unblocked.

“You’re expected to provide 5-star service on every trip and even if you have over 1000 trips with 5-star ratings, if you get reported for anything at all, you get blocked from the platform.”

Shonuga believes that this approach is unfair and that while bad actors should be punished, the companies should take a nuanced approach in dealing with these issues.