Uber raises minimum fare to Ksh.220

Uber announced Tuesday it had raised the base fare in Kenya by 10 per cent to Ksh.220 a ride following drivers' protests.

The ride-hailing app’s head of East Africa Imran Manji said this was part of measures Uber was taking to help increase driver earnings, alongside a new service that lets customers pay Ksh.110 more per trip “to increase the likelihood and speed” of matching to a driver.

“Uber has made these pricing updates to ensure that drivers continue to have the opportunity to maximize their earnings while driving on the Uber app and at the same time, remaining at an affordable price point for riders,” Manji said in a statement.

In recent weeks, taxi drivers have been complaining that the prices per kilometre on ride-hailing apps have gone down despite skyrocketing fuel prices and the cost of living.

It has led drivers to charge higher fees than the rates listed by platforms, as well as reported cases of passenger harassment.

“We have an ongoing driver rewards program which includes cash bonuses and we aim to reduce driver operating costs through initiatives such as third-party partnerships with vehicle maintenance companies,” added Manji.

Kenya’s digital taxi services market comprises Uber, the Kenyan-owned Faras and Little, Bolt from Estonia and the Indian mobility company Yego.

Faras last week announced it had set the minimum cost for rides at Ksh.240.

“We have decided to increase all our minimum prices [to] Ksh.240 and also review our general prices upwards by a significant percentage. We have also set our commission rate to match the maximum allowed by the NTSA (National Transport and Safety Authority) effective immediately,” Faras General Manager Allan Maimbu said.

NTSA has capped the maximum commissions payable to digital taxi-hailing apps by drivers at 18 per cent.

Drivers through unions like the Organisation of Online Drivers Kenya (OOD),  have been pressuring the ride-hailing companies to increase their base fare to Ksh.300.

Among the digital taxi drivers’ issues have been a lack of inclusion in the pricing decisions, heavy taxation and alleged slow response to security complaints on some of the apps, especially the foreign-owned ones.

In 2022, Uber and Bolt reviewed trip prices after the Transport Ministry capped the commission paid to the companies at 18 per cent, down from 25 per cent.

But the drivers complain that on top of the 18 per cent, the government takes another 16 per cent of their commission as VAT diminishing their returns.