Uber, Yango, Bolt Taxi Drivers Refuse to Back Down On Threat To strike

Drivers in the stables of online taxi app companies in Ghana have refused to back down on a threat to undertake a weeklong strike over what they call slavish conditions of service.

They are demanding that Uber, Bolt (formerly Taxify) and Yango, make reforms to the way they operate or be prepared to run their apps without taxis on the road.

The insistence comes in the wake of Uber releasing a statement saying it was prepared to sit down with its drivers to listen to their concerns and work out amicable solutions.

Ishmael Oku, Board Member of the Online Drivers Union has however dismissed Uber’s calls for a meeting as hot air.

“We are not going to sit down with Uber because in the past we have attempted to sit down with them and it has ended up being a waste of time. In 2017, we went on a demonstration and sent a petition to them, they did not even accept the petition.

“Some six, eight months ago, we did the same, they did not mind us,” Mr. Oku said.

He insisted that, “what we are asking for, they can easily do it, they don’t need to sit down with us, they should just do it.”

The things the drivers are asking for include an upgrade in at least, fares for short distances, which they say would be the right thing to do given that fuel prices have gone up several times while fares of online taxi services have remained stagnant.

According to Mr. Oku, ghc4 that Uber charges for short distances and between ghc4 and ghc3 that Bolt and Yango charge for similar distances, are unreasonable because, “most times you have to spend fuel to drive a long distance to pick up a passenger who will only then pay you for a short distance.”

The online drivers union board member also complained that the online taxi app companies run too many promotions for the benefit of passengers but to the detriment of drivers.

He also lamented that late hour services, which are usually offered from 11pm to 4 am are very risky but do not attract any compensation from the online taxi app companies.

Earlier, the drivers had said in a statement that the app companies were treating them like modern day slaves.

However, in a counter statement, Uber rejected the claim, making the point that the arrangement that it has with its drivers positions the drivers to benefit from incentives and rewards that help them to reduce cost and keep more of their earnings.

Uber then asked for a meeting with the drivers so their concerns can be addressed. However, the drivers say they are not prepared to sit down with Uber and that all that they need the online taxi app company to do is to address the issues which are well known to them. Failure to do this, they promise to go on strike in the coming days.