Drivers blame falling wages on illegal fare hikes on ride-hailing apps

It’s the same problem that underpinned the last strike, but it’s different this time. More and more passengers are complaining about being harassed by digital taxi drivers who demand higher fares on multiple ride-hailing platforms.

The news was followed by a statement from the Online Drivers Organisation, which said passengers would now be charged higher fares than those offered by platforms such as Uber, Bolt and Faras.

Taxi drivers say that while they will continue to recruit customers through ride-hailing apps, prices for those services will be set at their discretion.

Over the past few days, passengers have taken to the internet to denounce illegal fare hikes being imposed on them by online taxi drivers in and around Nairobi.

A grocery store clerk calls the situation crazy, saying: “One time this week I paid 1,100 and the guy wanted 1,700.”

This is not an isolated incident. Yesterday, user X claimed he was attacked by a driver who locked him in his car for not paying an additional 300 shillings. In a video recorded by a passenger, the driver can be heard demanding more.

In light of this crisis, we caught up with several drivers to investigate these claims and find out why they resorted to illegal price increases. Harrison Munala, a veteran in the industry who has been driving for about nine years, says he left a lucrative job to join Uber when the app first came to the country.

“When Uber came to Kenya, I had a sister working in Dubai named Irene. I asked her to help me get a loan to buy a car and join Uber because everyone was happy with that. We bought a Toyota Passo and entered the Uber business.”

He says the beginning was very rosy. “The rates were good and the drivers were happy. We were delivering bottled water to customers. I was giving customers Dasani water and had a hotspot in the car. I was speaking English to customers, even if I wasn’t fluent, asking, ‘Do you need Wi-Fi?’

But those days are long gone. Harrison says ride-hailing apps change their terms on a daily basis, giving drivers little or no room to negotiate. “You could be in the Maasai Mara on a trip and when you go online, the app requires you to sign and agree to a new contract, which is very long, even if it’s nighttime and you want to leave. So you have to say yes because you’re looking for a job that will get you out of there.”

Much worse, he says, is the massive recruitment drive for drivers that ride-hailing apps have undertaken in recent years. That has meant fewer trips for each driver, which has translated into low pay, if any at all.

“There are drivers who wake up in the morning and haven’t had a single ride by evening. Since morning, and I can show you this on my apps, I haven’t had a single ride. And that driver is me.”

Steven Ndonga, another driver in Nairobi, has switched to a new but illegal pricing system. “The app charges competitive prices, sometimes 100, 200, 130, 70 shillings, which doesn’t make any profit.”

He says that ride-hailing app prices per kilometre have fallen despite exponential increases in fuel prices and the general cost of living. “Imagine, from 2016, Uber was charging 60 shillings per kilometre, and now it’s down to 27. Back then, public toilets were 5 shillings; now it’s 20 shillings. It’s just day-to-day survival.”

When asked why they still want to acquire customers through the app but charge on their own terms, Steven replied, “If they give me a customer, I pay them; it’s not that I don’t pay.”

Research by the University of Oxford, conducted in cooperation with the German Development Agency GIZ, also highlights the challenges faced by people working in the digital space.

Caroline Omware, a senior researcher at Qhala who participated in the Fairwork project for both organisations, says digital work in Kenya is poorly regulated, resulting in poor working conditions.

“Platforms are taking advantage of the fact that the government does not enforce anything on those working on digital platforms. Of the 12 platforms we assessed in 2023, none reached the threshold of paying their workers what we call the minimum wage in Kenya, let alone a living wage.”

But the rising cost of living is also affecting passengers. Mercy Mueni, a frequent taxi driver who recently fell victim to illegal fares, says that while drivers are rightly upset, they should seek the right channels to resolve the issue. “We all understand that the cost of living is high, but drivers need to know that the customer is not the enemy; the enemy is the app.”

Margaret Kinyua, a digital taxi driver, agrees. “Whenever it rains, we have what they call a spike. Prices can go up two or three times, and customers still pay. So what does that say? The problem is not the customer; the problem is the app. Whatever is displayed on the app, the customer is willing to pay.”

Uber responded to the incidents in a statement, saying: “Requesting additional payment beyond what is displayed in the app is against our Community Guidelines and we encourage riders to report such incidents in the app for further investigation.”

Bolt responded to Citizen TV that it is working on a solution but continues to “discourage drivers from charging fares on the app until this industry issue is resolved.”

Harrison Munala expressed his frustration: “What’s the point of having a car that pulls into the parking lot where your neighbor can smell onions and meat, but your house doesn’t smell like meat? It doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t make sense.”

Margaret Kinyua added: “Whenever you call to order a taxi and you see 70 shillings, 100 shillings, sit down, think again and ask yourself: if I give the driver 70 shillings, will he be able to cover the cost of fuel, wear and tear and maintenance?”

Digital taxi drivers are telling Kenyans they will either pay or use matatus. They say the cost of living has gone up, not only for passengers but also for drivers.