Bolt Drivers Urge Ride Hailing Company To Re-Negotiate Commission For Business Survival

While resting in his home in Kubwa,  Melchizedek Abraham, a Bolt driver in Abuja, got a pickup from a customer who stays in Fo1 area of Kubwa and needed to catch her flight at the Nnamdi Azikiwe internal airport Abuja.

When he picked up the customer and found out that the fare was N6,000,  he requested to drive offline.

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When asked why he opted to go offline, Abraham told the customer, “You don’t expect me to let Bolt take that money when I need cash to buy fuel in this period of scarcity.”

Many other residents of the city have narrated similar experiences with Bolt trips, and it seems that drivers are devising their own strategies to be profitable.

Many drivers are cancelling rides and requesting to ride offline, citing the high cost of fuel and the refusal of the Bolt company to increase the fares.

The drivers argue that the current fares are not enough to cover the rising cost of fuel, which has made it difficult for them to make  profit. They also say the cost of maintaining their vehicles has increased due to the devaluation of the Nigerian currency and the high cost of spare parts.

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According to Afolabi, who drives a silver Kia Cerato, he has been forced to cancel rides when he realized that the cost of fuel to complete the trip will be more than what he would earn.

 “I am not making any profit from the rides. After deducting the cost of fuel and other expenses, I am left with almost nothing. Bolt is yet to increase the cost of fares, you will notice that currently the cost from Gwarimpa to Banex still remains unchanged from the N1,200 it was in 2021,” he said.

Some drivers also requested to ride offline, which means they will not be visible to passengers on the app.

 This has made it difficult for passengers to find a ride, leading to longer wait times and frustration.

While explaining the plight of the Bolt drivers, Stephen Silka, who has been in the business since 2020, said it’s a hard time for the business, but urged drivers to reject rides when it does not meet up to their profit expectations rather than go offline, leaving passengers stranded.

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He said, “It’s a major country issue. The truth is the system has been static for a while. When things change in the country, we expect the system to also change with it but you discover that the price of fuel would increase and bolt rates remain the same.

“Another factor is the scarcity of fuel, which should automatically make ride fares to increase, but no they are still the same for different locations. The drivers have expressed their grievances but they are going about it the wrong way.

“If you see a ride and you don’t like the amount, then don’t accept it rather than go offline with a client; that is, you’re breaking a system and you are robing bolt of their percentage gain for that ride. The percentage between the drivers and bolt is 75% to 25%, so drivers need to cut bolt some slack because they are trying their best to keep us in business.”

The drivers accused the company of not doing enough to address their concerns, saying that the company is more concerned with making  profit than with the welfare of its drivers.

They demanded that the company increase the cost of fares to reflect the current economic situation in the country.

“Bolt drivers cancel rides because the distance to a particular pickup is far. When they do the calculation from where they are to the pickup, then you now notice that you are burning more fuel for a particular pickup for a short ride of maybe N1000 or N500. Nobody wants to do that,” Melchizedek Abraham, a Bolt driver,  explained.

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“Sometimes I get a ride request for 25 minutes pickup, 18 minutes, I would cancel it because it’s costing me more. A lot is involved in the business, from buying of fuel to car maintenance, so most drivers would rather go offline than give bolt that percentage.”

He further explained that bolt drivers would often cancel trips if they’ve reached the threshold set by Bolt to stop taking cash trips.

“There is a particular threshold of N15,000 set by bolt, when drivers reach this threshold, the system automatically sends a notification of only card trips. Sometimes I get a card trip for an airport pickup for N6,000; you don’t expect me to let Bolt takes that when I need cash, so I would rather go offline but this depends on the customer.”

The drivers, however, acknowledged that the high-cost of fuel and the nation’s poor economy have affected the quality of service they offer clients, and urged Bolt to re-negotiatee the business commission.

“Bolt should address their percentage for commission, I feel it’s too high. Both parties need to be satisfied, the money drivers make is not just for them, they have to get fuel, maintain the car and save for profit. No one wants to go into a business that is not making profit. If the percentage is 10%, it’s not bad,” Abraham advised.

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