Nigeria ride‑hailing drivers protest pricing as fuel costs rise

LAGOS, March 18 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Nigerian drivers who are signed up with ride-hailing services Uber, Bolt and inDrive protested on Wednesday in Lagos over low fares and high commissions while calling on the Lagos State Assembly to intervene and mandate higher pricing.

Nigeria is one of Africa's largest markets for app-based drivers, with roughly half operating in the commercial capital Lagos, a city of more than 20 million people, according to drivers' unions and transport regulators.

• The drivers said the platforms set fares too low while charging commissions of up to 30%, leaving them with little income at a time when petrol prices have surged following the Iran conflict that pushed up global oil prices.

• "In the past year, most drivers, at least 90%, have worked without any gain and they are living in horrible and terrible conditions, and they are very unhappy," said Ayodele Adedoyin Adetola, a union official who is signed up with inDrive.

• "And we say no to bad pricing on all the apps, be it inDrive, be it Bolt, be it Uber. We are tired of their bad pricing because we've been to them, we've explained to them, we've mailed them, we've explained that this pricing and the present economic rates are not matching."

• The drivers marched to the Lagos State Assembly, where they submitted a petition demanding regulatory intervention. A lawmaker said the petition would be considered by the assembly.

• Uber, Bolt and inDrive did not respond to requests for comment.