E-hailing drivers under the aegis of the Amalgamated Union of App-based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATWON) have decried the increase in the level of job loss among its members following the withdrawal of investors.
The union lamented that vehicle owners were selling their vehicles due to the country’s dwindling economy.
Speaking in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, the AUATWON spokesperson, Jossy Olawale, stated that investors were finding it difficult to cope due to the increase in the price of petrol and maintenance costs.
He said, “Now, some investors who bought cars and gave it to drivers are finding it hard to cope. They are selling out their cars and withdrawing from the business. This is reducing the numbers of drivers daily which is really affecting some of our members because many people are losing their jobs.
“On our various platforms, we see people requesting for cars because their car owners have withdrawn their cars as they cannot cope with the current situation. The issue is that once your car becomes faulty, the amount you had saved for three months may not be enough to repair it”.
Speaking further, he said, “That is why we have been calling on the government to support us with the alternative CNG that they have been talking about because we are the worst hit by the removal of subsidy and increase in the pump price of fuel”.
In June, the union protested against the high commission rates set by Uber and Bolt despite the increase in petrol pump prices which dwindled their revenue generation.
They also demanded the protection of the drivers, as some attacks and killings were recorded in some parts of the country.
Speaking on the current situation, Olawale stated that no changes had been made to review the commission, adding that the level of insecurity had worsened.
He also said the details of passengers should be revealed to the drivers before pick-up for safety precautions.
He said, “During the protest in June, we requested that there should be a reduction in our commission and increase in fare as well as the security of drivers because we don’t know the identity of the drivers. Up till now, there has been no significant change.
“When there are attacks on drivers, the application company, most times, conceals the data of the passengers. We’ve had a situation whereby there was an attack on a driver but there was no information about the passenger he carried before the attack.
“That is why we are calling for adequate data collection and the government should regulate this sector. The National Identification Number can also be utilised in this regard”.
