No less than 100 drivers of ride-hailing service, Bolt, on Monday, March 14, 2022, took to the streets of Port Harcourt in Rivers State, to protest their unhealthy work relationship.
The protests, which attracted reactions from Bolt drivers in other parts of Nigeria, saw the protesters carrying placards with several inscriptions.
Maintaining that they operate under what they described as ‘very hash conditions’, the Bolt drivers dissatisfaction with the pricing of the service, as they claimed that it doesn’t reflect the reality of the challenges they face.
“Some riders will book and cancel and book as many times as possible. They are cancelling the ride; your activity score and percentage are dropping at intervals. We are being punished for the wrongs of the riders.
“Profiling is needed in the sense that somebody books a ride and when you call the person at the pickup spot, the person denies. In some cases, people book rides, get picked up, take the driver to another person who swaps with and kidnap the driver.
“We own our car, they do not repair it for us, therefore they have reduced the commission from 25% to at least 5%,” a protesting driver, who advocated for a need to increase the fares of rides on Bolt, stated.
Addressing the pricing concern, Bolt’s Regional Manager for West Africa, Uche Okafor promised that the ride-hailing service would review the situation.
“Our responsibility is to ensure that driving with Bolt is profitable and we remain an affordable and reliable way for passengers to move in their city.
“All our decisions regarding pricing and commissions are taken with these objectives in mind. Bolt will continue to closely evaluate and monitor driver economics and will consider making necessary adjustments if driver earnings are significantly impacted.
“We would like to assure drivers in Port Harcourt that Bolt will continue to deliver the best earning opportunities through a combination of optimal prices, lower commission, Top Bonuses, and Perks,” Okafor told BizWatch Nigeria.
