Uber Activities Come To Halt In Kenya

The activities of cab operators signed to Uber in Kenya became shaky on Tuesday as the operators went on a massive protest over fare cuts.

Uber which  started in East Africa in 2015 is now cutting cost by up to 25 percent to boost demand for service due to local competition from other firms.

According to Simon Mutebi, one of the drivers said “if they don’t do this we have other alternatives.We have so many other platforms where we can go because I need to eat. I need to feed my family”, quoted CNBC.

He said drivers were considering signing up with other ride-hailing companies like Little Cab, launched last month.

There are at least three ride-hailing apps in Nairobi and the services have not spread beyond the capital, heightening the scramble for customers, analysts said.

Uber, which allows users to book and pay for a taxi by smartphone, said the cuts were in the drivers' interest as they would attract more customers, adding it had consulted with its drivers before cutting prices.

"More people are requesting more rides with Uber," the company told Reuters.

Uber dropped the price per km to 35 shillings from 60 shillings ($0.59) last week. It also cut the waiting rate per minute to 3 shillings from 4 shillings previously.

Simon Mbogo, the secretary general of the Kenyan Taxi Digital Association, which represents the drivers, said the drivers would all switch to Little Cab if Uber did not accede to their demands by Tuesday afternoon.

Little Cab, which is jointly owned by telecoms operator Safaricom and local software developer Craft Silicon, was launched on July 5.

Apart from a return to the old prices, the taxi association also wants Uber to cut its deductions from drivers to 15 percent of their earnings from the current 25 percent, Mbogo said.

Uber users in Kenya said regular taxi cabs had raised their fares in response to the strike at Uber.