Bolt and inDrive Drivers Went on Strike
On Monday, 12 October, drivers on Bolt and inDrive, led by the Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATON), began an indefinite strike over fares, commissions and working conditions, about six weeks after Uber ended its Nigerian operations. Some passengers reported waits of 16 minutes to two hours, plus surge pricing. The strike may have been short-lived for four days, but the question it raised is much bigger: Is ride-hailing a long-term job or a gamble dressed up as opportunity? For the graduate without work, the civil servant whose salary ends by the tenth, and the father paying off a car loan, this is not an abstract debate. It is a conversation about survival, rent, school fees, fuel, etc.
What did the drivers actually ask for? Chiefly, a 10% commission cap. Bolt’s stated Lagos rate is 20%, so the cap would halve it. The union also wants fares reviewed to reflect fuel, maintenance, insurance, data, levies and vehicle financing, a clear account of every deduction, a fair process before a driver is deactivated, and consultation before major changes. Read that list again. None of it is radical. It is what most salaried workers would call basic: know how you are paid, know why you can be fired, and be heard before the rules change. Bolt offered a roundtable but has announced no change to fares or commissions, and inDrive had not publicly responded in the reports reviewed. Still, if these requests are unreasonable, someone could at least explain exactly why.
In a viral video, a driver said he spent ₦80,000 on fuel and earned ₦60,000 after working all night on Bolt and inDrive, which matches what many drivers describe. One former Uber driver told Zikoko he started on Bolt and inDrive to top up falling earnings, and that driving became a side hustle rather than a main job. Then there is the debt trap. Vehicle financier Moove announced on 8 October that it is leaving Nigeria and transferring vehicles worth over ₦35 billion to the drivers using them, but earlier unpaid remittances remain due. The union itself admitted that drivers with financed cars cannot stay offline for long. Therefore, a strike you cannot afford to join is not much of a strike.
Now the uncomfortable part that concerns the 9-to-5 workers. One Nigerian told a career blog that after her consulting job she would change shirts and drive Uber until midnight because her salary was doing “the bare minimum”. If employees need a second shift to survive, here is the argument people avoid: when salaried workers pile onto the apps after hours, supply rises, and it is at least plausible that this weakens the bargaining power of those who drive for a living. That is my opinion, not a fact. Meanwhile, even in 2021 drivers’ leaders said ride-hailing was meant to be a side hustle, but unemployment pushed people into treating it as their only income. However, the platforms call drivers “partners”, yet the drivers carry the car, the fuel and the risk. Who is truly the entrepreneur here?
The strike has since been suspended, with AUATON urging members to uninstall inDrive, and nothing published so far establishes a final agreement with Bolt. So nothing is settled. Uber is gone. Moove is gone. The remaining apps hold more power than ever, and drivers hold a smartphone and a petrol receipt. Perhaps the honest answer is that ride-hailing is a job for those who own the car outright and a gamble for everyone else. But that answer should trouble us, because most people entering it are not the owners. So tell us what you think. Should drivers be treated as employees, or is independence worth the risk? Should a salaried worker drive after hours, or is that exploitation we have learnt to call hustle? And if a 10% cap is “too much”, what, exactly, is a fair cut?