On Wednesday, ride-hailing drivers, including those from Uber, Bolt, LagRide, and Indriver, began a nationwide strike.
Ride-hailing drivers are sitting out until ride-hailing companies raise their base fares by 200 percent, according to the Amalgamated Union of App-based Transport Workers of Nigeria.
The drivers intend to picket the offices of Uber in Victoria Island and Bolt in Lekki, according to Kolawole Aina, the National Vice President of AUATWON for Southwest Nigeria.
Despite the strike, which is scheduled to last until Friday, a reporter was able to find a driver on the Bolt app who was said to be five minutes away from the PUNCH Headquarters in Ogun state to somewhere in Ikeja, Lagos.
Among other demands, AUATWON is asking ride-hailing companies to increase fares by a minimum of 200 per cent.
The union is also asking for a 50 per cent reduction in commission — Uber and Bolt collect a 20 per cent commission on every ride — and an end to the deactivation of drivers who refuse to work due to the low fares and attendant unprofitability.
The union is also seeking the recognition of AUATWON as the representative body for their interests.