E-hailing taxi drivers brace for big fuel hikes

E-HAILING taxi drivers in the province said they were bracing themselves for the petrol and diesel price increases that came into effect today.

The Uber and Bolt drivers said they were concerned about the increases as their companies had already reduced their fares, leaving them with little to nothing to take home.

A concerned Bolt driver said they were going to struggle from today as Uber and Bolt reduced their fares but had kept their commission percentage the same.

“These e- hailing companies exhaust drivers, knowing that there is no sort of representation of drivers like unions.

“They do what they want with drivers. They reduce prices and they don't reduce their commission. It all costs drivers as they don't give anything for fuel and data,” he said.

Another driver charged that Uber introduced another service called UberNam with lower fares, which was badly impacting the drivers who, he said, were not consulted.

“It's a disadvantage to us. For example, I used to drive a 28km trip for R180 but with UberNam you pay R130; the difference is big and there is no one who can stand with us as drivers.”

An Uber spokesperson said they were aware of the fuel increase, which will impact South Africans, adding that the well-being of drivers who use the Uber app was a priority.

“We remain committed to providing drivers with a reliable economic opportunity,” the spokesperson said.

Country manager of Bolt SA, Gareth Taylor, said Bolt last raised its rates for passengers in 2019, but reverted back to the previous rate in November 2020 when it saw that driver earnings per hour was being impacted.