Boda-Boda riders under Safe boda, the motorcycle ride-hailing company in Uganda are protesting the 15 per cent deduction from their earnings.This comes a few days after safe boda increased the deduction from 10 to 15 per cent last week.
The riders say the increment is unnecessary since the app charges customers less money.
They incidentally want the company to increase the transport fares on App to help them benefit as well.
Juma Mukiibe, a safe boda rider says that most of them still use the App because it keeps them busy since there are many customers seeking their services.
A safe boda rider charges less money compared to other boda boda riders, an example if you board from Bukoto to Nile Avenue, it will charge you Shs2500 only and another boda charges between Shs000-4000.
James Sewanyana, another safe boda rider explains that most of the time he puts his App off and he charges customers as usual. He requests the company to either take them back to ten percent or increase on customer charges.
Eagle Online talked to some other safe boda riders who threaten to leave the company because it’s no longer favoring them at all. Nicolas Nkugwa, a safe boda rider explains.
Hanington Tumuhimbise, a safe boda rider argues that the company is favoring customers and leaving out riders yet they are the ones supporting the business. He says, he uses airtime and data to be on a safe boda App, yet the customers are charged less amounts.
Tumuhimbise requests the company to reduce 15 per cent to at least seven percent.
Eagle Online also realizes that there are safe boda riders that you request on App and when they reach, they request that you allow them to take a trip which is off the App and you give them the same amount the App showed you. They do this to avoid being charged by the company.
According to Ricky Rapa-Thompson, Safe boda Co-Founder, they increased the rate because of the effect of #Covid-19 pandemic which affected their business heavily.
Thompson revealed that with the increment they hope to raise funds that can help in running the business. He however, says they have received complaints from riders, saying that this increment is much for them.
Adding that their riders usually earn 30 per cent more than regular boda bodas, even though the prices are fixed, because it is faster for them to get new customers through the app
Rapa said that they will look into that and see what they can do to cater for their riders.
Safe boda today is the leading safe ride in Africa with a fleet of over 13,000 riders in East and West Africa with close to 200 employees, more than 8,500 boda riders.
Safe Boda is one of the fast-growing start-up businesses in the boda-boda transport service that brought innovation to the growing motorcycle taxi industry in Uganda and Africa.
The community of riders use mobile phone technology to bring services to the people where one makes an order for the ride, right on their handsets. It was founded in Kyebando, a Kampala city suburb in 2015.
