Why Uber drivers are boycotting the Uber app

Technology has advanced and advanced in different ways. One area technology is causing disruption in the transport sector, is the way commuters get rides.

On a trip from Port Harcourt to Lagos recently, I hailed an Uber ride using the Uber App from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. When I finally met the driver, he started pleading with me to cancel the trip, and said he would rather I take the trip without the records on the platform.

I asked the driver, “why?” he said “I came out in the afternoon, and I have only had one ride since then, which I made N4,500.00 from. I need money badly, and since I will be dropping the car with the owner at Festac, and you are going to that direction, I just want to close for today and go home and rest”.

I couldn’t actually place it.

I cancelled the trip, left him, and took a cab from the MMIA home, but the incident left me wondering. I am not an ardent Uber person even; I am only having the app in the case of eventualities.

But, while my trip home lasted, out of curiosity, I engaged the driver that took me in a discussion, and found he is actually an Uber driver himself.

This really got to me. It made me even signed up on the platform as a driver afterwards to see what process it takes for drivers to be on the platform. That is a story for another day.

Uber is a technology transport company enabling commuters use their smartphones from the comfort of their homes using the Uber App to locate drivers in cities where Uber operates.

Uber currently operates in more than a hundred countries including Nigeria. It is also present in more than 630 cities worldwide including Lagos and Abuja.

“Drive with Uber and earn great money as an independent contractor. Get paid weekly just for helping our community of riders get rides around town. Be your own boss and get paid in fares for driving on your own schedule.

“Our driver community comprises people of different backgrounds, experiences, and interests. But it’s their passions that tell the story of who they are.

“Driving with Uber is flexible and rewarding, helping drivers meet their career and financial goals,” these statements read on various sections of Uber.com.

Also, there are various success stories by drivers on the website, but why are some other drivers boycotting the platform.

The experience this particular driver narrated to me was in sharp contrast to the success stories I read on the Uber website.

“The money I make from each ride, Uber will collect its share; the remaining money I will share with the owner of the car, after we have removed money for fuel and for the maintenance of the car.

“I had a flat tyre today, I was the one that fixed it; after making calculations and deductions, most times, what you will take home is not worth it. So, when drivers see any opportunity to make money for themselves, they go for it,” he said.

The driver further stated that issues with network can make a driver not get a ride, sometimes for a whole day, and “person go chop when him reach house”.

At times, we spend our own money to buy water, refreshments and sweets to attract passengers for them to rate us higher on the app.

“If your rating is below some points, you will not get certain benefits and one cannot satisfy every passenger,” he said.

Drive-hailing firms, although well advanced in other countries, are still faced with monumental challenges in Nigeria, but with time, the firms, the drivers and partners will get it right, was all I could mutter to the driver.

 
I couldn’t really place the narratives of these drivers together so I want to ask what challenges you have had using Uber or some other drive-hailing platforms as a driver or as a rider? Leave a comment below.