Ride hailing company Uber has raised the base fare in Kenya by 10 per cent to Kes220 per ride following drivers' protests who complain that the prices per kilometer have reduced despite skyrocketing fuel prices and the cost of living.
According to Uber East Africa Head Imran Manji, the increase is part of measures Uber took to help increase driver earnings.
In a statement on Wednesday, he revealed that the company has introduced a new service that lets customers pay Kes110 more per trip to increase the likelihood and speed of matching to a driver.
“Uber has made these pricing updates to ensure that drivers continue to have the opportunity to maximize their earnings while driving on the Uber app and at the same time, remaining at an affordable price point for riders.”.
“We have an ongoing driver rewards program which includes cash bonuses and we aim to reduce driver operating costs through initiatives such as third-party partnerships with vehicle maintenance companies.”
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This comes a week after Faras set the minimum cost for rides at Kes 240.
“After careful consideration, we have decided to increase all our minimum prices [to] Ksh.240 and also review our general prices upwards by a significant percentage. We have also set our commission rate to match the maximum allowed by the NTSA (National Transport and Safety Authority) effective immediately,” Faras General Manager Allan Maimbu said.
NTSA has capped the maximum commission drivers pay to digital taxi-hailing apps at 18 percent.
“To ease the impact of the price changes, we’ll continue to offer discounts to our customers, and as always, our drivers will receive the balance for discounted trips immediately after the trip ends, directly in their wallet,” Maimbu said.
He revealed that the company had discussed the move with drivers on their platform and agreed to it.
