UPDATE: Bolt drivers protest in Ibadan, demand review of fare rates, commission, others

Drivers of the ride-hailing app, Bolt, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital protested unfair pricing, incessant blocking of drivers among other grievances concerning their welfare on Tuesday.

Scores of drivers who converged on the Molete office of the organisation lamented the decision of Bolt to increase its commission from 15 per cent to 20 per cent without increasing fare rates in light of the consistent increase in fuel price and present economic realities.

They also alleged the ride-hailing app of punishing drivers and restricting them from daily operations following grievances with riders without a fair hearing.

A letter written by the protesters sighted by Tribune Online contained five demands including an “upward review of the current fare in relation to hike in fuel price and high inflation rate, complete profiling of riders using the bolt app in order to secure the lives and property of driver-partners.”

Others are “immediate review of driver-partners account blocked unjustly overtime and due consultation with driver-partners’ representatives before enacting major policies, immediate review of commission charged on trips to 10 per cent and welfare packages and compensation for driver-partners and those who have been killed or maimed on the line of duties.”

The letter dated June 1, 2021, was signed by Temitope Abraham and Victor Ogaji.

The drivers noted that they resorted to a peaceful demonstration after strike actions and several meetings held with the officials of Bolt in Ibadan failed to yield positive results.

Tribune Online reports that a delegation of protesters earlier met with representatives of the organisation on Tuesday morning with a view to resolving the issues but the meeting was ended abruptly by chants of solidarity songs by the rest of the protesters.

One of the drivers and a member of the delegation that met with Bolt, Jubril Adedapo, there is the need for the ride-hailing platform to totally reform its operations with a view to accommodating the concerns of the drivers.

Adedapo said: “Our agitation revolves around the challenges we face working for Bolt. What is being charged as fare when fuel price was N97 is still the same with was charged up till yesterday (Sunday). The fare was increased by N100 yesterday. With the situation of things in the country, N100 increase is not a fair review of fares.

“It will also be good for Bolt to adequate profile all the riders that we carry. We have a case where a driver was kidnapped, about three other cases where the drivers were beaten up. Bolt has since refused to provide details of the riders that carried out those attacks.

“This continues to put the lives of drivers at risk. And that is one of the reasons we are asking for total reform.”

When asked about the outcome of the meeting earlier held with representatives of the company, Adedapo said: “To the best of my knowledge, I don’t think they are ready to do anything positive about these issues. And for that, we will keep agitating until our demands are meant.”

Another member of the delegation, Victor Ogaji said: “No driver on the Bolt platform can commit a crime and go scot-free with such. He/she knows that he will be fished out. But we cannot say the same for riders. Last year, a Bolt driver was kidnapped for several weeks and his damaged. We want riders to be properly profiled

“We want a review of fares. Fares in Lagos are better when compared to that of Ibadan. The price of fuel in Lagos is the same in Ibadan. Car spare parts are expensive here compared to Lagos where it is readily available. And Bolt keeps reducing the fare rates to favour the passengers.

“The car that can qualify to be on Bolt today is a N3 million car. How can I put a N3 million car on the road to carry a passenger for N200? That is unfair. Fuel prices have increased, engine oil has increased and spare parts are expensive and Bolt has refused to increase the fares.

“We want our drivers who were initially blocked to be unblocked. They were blocked from accessing the platform based on mere complaints from the riders and they do this without listening to the drivers’ accounts. There should be a fair hearing.

“We have parents amongst us who are here to make a living in this hard economy. And we have been working with these issues for about three years. We started in 2019. We want an end to this.

“From what we have heard from their representatives, it is obvious they don’t want to listen to us. It is unfortunate that we will come back here. Our demands are fair enough and are realistic. We just want fares to be commensurate with the current economic trends.”

A representative of Bolt, Sola Michael who addressed the protesters said the organisation is committed to ensuring the welfare of both the riders and drivers are carefully addressed.

“We have received their complaints and feedback and we are committed to resolving them. That is what we have been doing all this while. We will continue to resolve any issue between our drive partners and us,” he said.

When pressed further about how Bolt has resolved the issues raised by the drivers overtime, Michael asked our reporter to send an email to the company’s press unit, adding that the company’s “commitment to the ease of the drivers is steadfast. And we are working to improve it daily.”

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

FACT CHECK: Did UNICEF Say Blocking Children’s Access To Pornography Constitutes Human Rights’ Infringement?

CLAIM 1: A Twitter user claims UNICEF said any efforts to block children from accessing pornography might infringe their human rights.UPDATE: Bolt drivers protest in Ibadan, demand review of fare rates, commission, others

UPDATE: Bolt drivers protest in Ibadan, demand review of fare rates, commission, others