The Professional E-Hailing Drivers and Private Owners Association (PEDPA) in Lagos, on Tuesday, announced plans to dump Uber and bolt as it said that it had entered into partnership with two indigenous App companies for its ride-sharing service.
The partnership is expected to protect the interest of the drivers and provide them with a good welfare package.
This disclosure was made by the National President of PEDPA, Mr Idris Shonuga, while speaking to journalists in Lagos, on Tuesday, saying that the association had partnered with Active Ride and My Cab App companies as replacements for Uber and Bolt.
PEDPA in its statement said, “These indigenous App companies would work with the templates and provide drivers with a good welfare package for riders’ satisfaction.
This will enable the union to protect the collective interests of the drivers as decisions can now be jointly taken and approved before it is binding on both parties.”
Shonuga said that both drivers and riders had to deal with the shortcomings in the e-hailing industry without any mutual written agreement between the owners of the cars and the foreign app companies.
He said, “As against the 20 per cent commission by the team giant App companies, Active Ride is charging 15 per cent commission on each trip. And out of the 15 per cent, five per cent is dropped into the driver’s cooperative wallet and can be accessed for a quick fix.
“This means that with the 10 per cent commission taken by Active Ride, drivers can now earn more and even save. They can now have a good maintenance routine which in turn translate to better customer service delivery.’’
He explained that the new locally developed ride-sharing app would give riders the opportunity to be properly profiled as they would input their photographs at the point of registration which in turn will be displayed for riders to see.
The PEDPA President pointed out that this will improve the safety and security of both riders and drivers.
He said that prices of goods and services had gone up by over 200% and called for an upward review in fare to meet the current economic realities adding that most drivers find it difficult to maintain their cars and so most times transfer their aggression on the riders whom they felt are underpaying them.
The Managing Director of one of the indigenous App companies, Active Ride, Mr Ajayi Ayodeji, said that the reduced commission of 15% means that drivers can now earn more, save and have a good maintenance routine which in turn translate to better customer service delivery.
What you should know
The e-cab operators of Uber and Bolt have been having a running battle with the e-hailing companies over some unresolved issues.
It can be recalled that in August 2020, the drivers under the e-hailing platform for the 2 companies threatened to dump the ride-hailing services over unfavourable business practices pointing out that both app providers took unilateral decisions, fixed inequitable commissions for themselves, fixed unhealthy trip fares and denied them the right to belong to a union.
Also, some Uber and Bolt e-cab drivers in Lagos had in April 2021 threatened to withdraw their services unless an immediate increase in fares is implemented.
The threat from the e-cab operators, under the aegis of Professional E-hailing Drivers and Private Owners Association (PEDPA), follows the non-review of its prices by the e-hailing companies despite unprecedented increases in the price of petrol, vehicle spare parts, food items and other essential commodities in the country.
Uber, earlier this month, increased the rate of its economy option (UberX) by 13% in Lagos from May 11, 2021. The new billing structure will affect both peak and off-peak periods and also reflects time-based pricing that enables drivers to earn more at certain periods during the day.
