25% Commission: Why Uber drivers are bitter
By Marvin Ocol
Ugandan Uber drivers are unhappy with the American mobility as a service provider.
The issue, Kampala Gazette understands rotates around how much commission Uber takes off a trip and when to remit it.
In the past weeks, local drivers faced a tough time as some customers think that it is time Uber “rethink their model”
Yet some customers believe that it is the drivers failing the Company.
But drivers say that the company charges a lot of commission from the trips and that “they need it every week”
“If you don’t, the App doesn’t allow you to work which was not the case in 2017-18,” a driver says.
Whereas this reporter understands that there is the fuel prices issue to blame, the 25% commission Uber takes from every trip the driver makes is the centre of the row.
“If the driver drove you for distance of 7, 000; Uber will take 2, 000, yet you used fuel of 3, 000 (if there is no traffic jam). The driver’s profit for that distance is 2, 000,” another driver notes.
According to Hellen Nakyeyune, a local driver, 25% commission is hard to pay on fare as low as 8, 000 for a distance of over 10km, considering traffic jam and bad roads.
As result of these complications, drivers now negotiate before they drive to a customer’s location.
Nakyeyune explains the negotiation bit.
“We negotiate because we also want to afford a decent life.”
Some customers now think that either Uber looks into the fares issue or they quit Ugandan market.
