Ride-hailing firm, Bolt has raised its ride charges including the minimum fare, barely a week after rival Uber made a similar move to curb pressure from drivers who had protested its prices for months and resorted to setting their own rates in recent weeks.
Bolt announced on Monday that it had increased base fares across all its ride categories by 10 percent.
“Following the announcement, all rides booked through the Bolt platform will reflect a 10 percent increase in the base fare, for example, the base fare for the Economy category will move from Sh200 to Sh220,” Bolt said in a statement.
Bolt, an Estonian ride-hailing and food delivery startup, said the move was expected to improve drivers’ earnings, noting that it has in recent months engaged them, amid concerns of ride-hailing firms’ pricing mechanisms being unfair to drivers.
Drivers operating in the ride-hailing industry have over the past months protested the companies’ pricing formula saying it is unfair to them and resorted to printing their price rates beyond prices customers were charged on the apps, sparking public outcry that has now forced the firms to raise prices.
On Monday last week, Uber said it had increased prices across all its products, indicating that the minimum fare on the ‘Uber Chap Chap’ product would go up by 10 percent.
Uber’s Head of East Africa Imran Manji said the drivers’ protests “has been an input, but it is not the decisive factor” for the decision to raise prices but noted that the company hoped “that this behaviour of price negotiation will now stop.”
Bolt said the feedback it received from engagements with drivers led it to increase the prices.
“The feedback received highlighted the need for a fare adjustment to help drivers maintain sustainable earnings,” it said.
Bolt’s General manager in charge of rides, Linda Ndungu said the price adjustment was an acknowledgement of “the value our drivers bring to the platform every day.”
“We believe that this move will help our drivers earn a fair wage, which in turn will allow them to continue providing the reliable and safe transportation our riders depend on,” she said.
Little has also increased its minimum fares, with the economy category rising by Sh150. The base rates for the basic category went up by Sh130, while that of comfort increased by Sh230.
“This increase may mean slightly higher costs for our clients, but it also guarantees more reliable and convenient services. A happy driver will always deliver excellent service,” said Little CEO Kamal Budhabhatti.
