Pretoria - Uber in South Africa will increase base fares from between R5 to R15 for all ride categories from Thursday, but e-hailing drivers say it is not enough and have vowed to strike next week.
A minimum parcel delivery on Connect Moto will now cost R30. A minimum fare for an UberGo ride will be R30, R35 for UberX, R40 for UberXL, R45 for UberComfort, R65 for UberBlack and R90 for UberVan.
Uber’s minimum base fare increase comes as e-hailing drivers are planning a nationwide strike next week from Tuesday. E-hailing drivers are calling on fare adjustments and for the e-hailing companies to reduce their commission in light of rising fuel costs.
The national strike is planned to start on March 22, will include drivers from Uber, Bolt, DiDi and other e-hailing apps.
On Wednesday, Uber release a new minimum fare list on their rides saying they understood that global fuel prices and other operating costs continued to put pressure on driver earnings.
“We hope that these changes will help ease your burden during these challenging times; and we encourage you to keep engaging with us through official platforms, like the driver roundtables, to help us improve your experience on the App,” Uber said in a message to drivers on Wednesday night.
One of the organisers of the planned strike, Nomagugu Damba, who is a former Bolt driver, said the strike will go on.
“This is only just to silence drivers not to attend the march planned for next week.”
She said the money added by the American mobility service provider does nothing to cushion their already existing financial challenges.
Damba acknowledged the safety issues which have been raised on social media by clients especially with Bolt.
“There are a lot of issues around safety, its not that I want to take positions on behalf of the drivers, but we want to create awareness that the app companies are not doing enough to verify the clients, but they are quick to verify the driver.
“There are hooligans who rob us and hijack our cars.”
Damba added that their strike has gained support from South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) and The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).
“They are in full support of us and we are going to have a media briefing on Friday afternoon and they will be attending.”
IOL