Gig drivers who use Uber and Bolt apps are charging customers higher than the suggested prices on those apps, blaming a recent fuel price hike and tepid reactions from ride-hailing companies. Across three separate trips in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, drivers added between ₦1,000 to ₦2,000 extra, claiming that the prices the apps suggested didn’t work for them.
“If you book a ride that is not up to ₦3,000, drivers will demand ₦5,000 or else they’ll cancel the trip,” one gig driver told TechCabal.
Ride-hailing companies are responding with slight increases in base fares and new driver incentives.
“We just concluded a weekly campaign where we could win ₦10,000 fuel bonus each time we concluded a series of eight rides with little to no cancellations,” Olakunle, a gig driver, said.
As their margins come under more pressure, gig drivers are opting for longer trips and telling customers upfront that they have to pay more.
A second fuel price hike and quickening inflation have put extra strain on the gig-driving model, which has struggled to maintain its attractiveness as drivers ask for significant fare increases.
“We have announced a 15% fare increase on our platform as we recognise the essential role our drivers play in delivering exceptional service to our customers,” Bolt told TechCabal in an email. Uber also increased base fares by 13% in response to driver concerns.
Ride-hailing dark horse InDrive adjusted prices in six major cities after “feedback from drivers and passengers,” a spokesperson for the company told TechCabal.
All three companies declined to share what the percentage increases will translate to regarding actual base fares.
“The fare increment does not match the 47% extra we now have to pay for fuel,” Olakunle, a gig driver, told TechCabal.
Olakunle, who typically works 10-hour days, used to make about 30 trips in three days before the latest fuel hike. Now, he makes less than 20 trips because of cost considerations.
Customers are also likely pulling back from using ride-hailing services.
“Cab rides are now more expensive. My journey back home used to cost around N2500- ₦3000. It’s now about ₦6500 on Bolt. I was able to bargain for ₦4,000 on InDrive,” a rider lamented.
