Fuel price hike: Nigerian drivers groan as Uber, others raise fares in Australia, New Zealand

As fuel prices continue to climb internationally, businesses that depend on the commodity for productivity have increased their product prices. This is no different for e-hailing companies like Uber, Bolt, DiDi, and others, whose drivers rely heavily on fuel to complete rides.

Around the world, ride-hailing companies are raising fares. In Australia, Uber announced that it will increase prices by six per cent to help drivers cushion the effects of the global fuel price hike.

An Uber spokesperson told Australian media that this was part of a regular fare review, which the company carries out to ensure it strikes the right balance between drivers’ earnings and affordable rides.

“From next week, we will be updating Uber fares which will increase driver earnings by an average of six per cent across Australia. These changes build on work already under way and reflect our ongoing commitment to better supporting driver earnings over time,” the spokesperson said.

The company also stated that the surcharge will not be temporary, and even if the cost of fuel were to drop, the price would not decrease accordingly.

Similarly, DiDi, another e-hailing app operating in Australia, announced a five-cent-per-kilometre surcharge to help cover fuel costs for drivers.

“To help offset these increasing operating costs, DiDi will increase the temporary fuel surcharge applied to every DiDi trip nationwide,” head of external affairs Dan Jordan said.

In New Zealand, where ride-hailing drivers are paying as much as $100 extra a week for petrol just to remain on the road, DiDi has increased its charges, adding a surcharge of five cent per kilometre to the fare payable by passengers. The new surcharge, which comes into effect today, March 25, will be paid in full to drivers without any service fee deductions.

The platform has also been providing eligible drivers with a financial bonus of up to $40 a week before the surcharge comes into effect to help them cushion against rising fuel costs.

Nigerian drivers groan under crushing fuel price

Before the US/Israel vs Iran conflict, fuel generally sold for between N850 to N890 naira per litre in major Nigerian cities like Lagos and Abuja. Even then, e-hailing drivers had been groaning over what they described as unfair pricing of their work by the apps, leading to unsustainable earnings.

Indeed, in Lagos state, the drivers had severally petitioned the state legislature to address the excesses of the app companies. To this end the legislature invited the companies for hearing.

However much didn’t change and the situation of the drivers would indeed worsen with the Iran conflict and it’s attendant global repercussions. Fuel price would rise to N1350 per litre, a nearly 60 per cent increase in the most important operational cost for drivers. The drivers struggling to make ends meet suddenly found themselves struggling to survive the business.

Yet the app companies refused to increase prices. This prompted drivers in Lagos, under the Amalgamated Union of App-based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATON), to embark on a three-day strike to drive home their point. The striking drivers logged off all e-hailing app while encouraging their colleagues to do the same.

On the third day, the drivers picketed the office of the state governor, as well as the House of Assembly, to display their frustration. While promises were made, it is left to see if those promises would yield tangible results.

Similarly, drivers in the city of Benin have declared a five-day strike beginning today, March 25. According to the drivers, since they can’t negotiate the price of fuel, the only rational thing to do was negotiate their prices on the app.

Despite all of this, there are no positive responses from the apps and price fares remain the same. Uber said it was seeking dialogue with drivers, even though the drivers said there was no attempt to reach them.

On its part, Bolt said it was monitoring the fuel cost situation and was going to introduce “targeted measures” to help drivers cope with the rising fuel costs. In response to a Technext query, the company said:

“We are well aware that fuel costs are an important component of driver earnings, so we are closely monitoring the impact of rising fuel prices. We are currently assessing our pricing and driver earnings in Nigeria, and we are preparing to introduce targeted measures to help drivers manage the short-term cost pressures,” the company said.

The company also has a fuel support system, however, it is one of the privileges reserved for drivers who qualify for its reward system. But what drivers are clamouring for is an increase in fares across board.

inDrive is yet to say anything on the matter.

The post Fuel price hike: Nigerian drivers groan as Uber, others raise fares in Australia, New Zealand first appeared on Technext.