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Striking Uber drivers disrupt traffic on the roads of Nairobi

By HILARY KIMUYU, @hilarykimuyu March 2nd, 2017 2 min read

Drivers of ride hailing company Uber on Thursday went on the rampage and forced passengers who were using their rides to alight.

Traffic was brought to a standstill along some of the busy roads in the city as the protesting drivers flagged down their colleagues and kicked out passengers.

The drivers’ main complaint is the reduced rates for fare that the company implemented some time last year.

But the company in statement on Thursday said that they have been in talks with the drivers and the ministry of transport and other policy makers and that they were working hard to explore a solution.

“We appreciate the ongoing discussions with the Ministry of Transport towards ensuring that innovative technologies, such as Uber, have a place in Kenya and that everyone, anywhere has access to a safe, reliable and affordable ride at the touch of a button,” said Uber Sub Saharan Africa manager Alon Lits.

FUEL PRICES

Mr Lits acknowledged that recently some driver-partners, in Nairobi, had expressed concerns around their earnings in light of inflation and the increase in fuel prices.

“By helping driver-partners stay busy, we hoped to improve the amount of money they make. And we saw an increase in the number of trips taken by new and existing riders and, in many cases, higher than average earnings for driver-partners,” he added.

He went ahead to say that they will continue to monitor partner economics and if anything changed they would reassess price change.

“We remain dedicated to listening to our driver-partners, monitoring their economics and carrying forward our conversation with governments to ensure innovation of the transport system in general, but also innovation for the way entrepreneurs build their own small businesses,” he said.

Social media users were quick to react to the action of the striking drivers with many questioning why they were harassing their colleagues who opted out.


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