Uber madness! Disheartening revelation of a lady who bought a car to serve as taxi under Uber

This is a rant!

Last week, an innocent Kenyan hailed an Uber from Nairobi CBD, and while on Haile Selassie Avenue they were attacked, doors banged, windows broken almost injuring the poor girl. These guys are so savage that they had spanners ready to remove wheels from a moving car just to prove a point.

In 2017, must peace of mind and freedom of movement be purchased at the price of chains, demos and mass action? When will someone help us find out why this one business entity always sits back and watches as its partners and customers tear into each other viciously while they bank obscene profits?

My small bro has been an Uber driver for about one and a half years now. And sometimes I look at him and wonder what this boy child needs to go through before he can decide enough is enough. As we speak, he is back in the house with our car missing all front windows, dented windshield, thank God with his life intact. Why? Because the drivers’ association decided they should all go on strike to demand better terms. And if you choose to remain on the roads they administer instant justice to you. I will address that idiocy shortly but let me break down what their main grievances are.

So you invest and buy the car, Uber invests in a platform and in advertising. Fair enough. This means you are both partners and have a huge stake in the business. What baffles these guys is how Uber dictates what the fares and pricing points will be without consultation. They have lowered their rates twice over two years without touching on their share of the pie. Meaning brother man over here has a car loan, car insurance, fuel, wear and tear….and NO SAY WHATSOEVER in how much should be billed. Yawa! What kind of colonialism is this? All this while Oga Sir from San Fransisco keeps his 25% without paying any taxes? As if this is not enough, these drivers have to fight with other forces such as KAA in order to go about their business.

My husband and I decided to take a car loan so that my bro could try fend for himself. From the numbers we had received, it was very possible for this car to pay for itself and for him to move out and start his life and his family. Of course my husband came on board because of that bit about bro moving out but 18 months later we seem to be making one step forward, and 4 backwards! There are days he comes home with less than a thousand shillings net earnings. At times he even borrows money for fuel from us. For this guy, even buying lunch at times is a luxury because he tries to finyilia his expenses to be as low as possible so that he can try make a profit. Is this business or witchcraft?

This market has two major players. Uber and Little, that one from Safaricom. I am sure there is a reason why the Littledrivers have never been on strike to the best of my knowledge. Surely why can’t Little reach out to these guys such as my brother who honestly want to do good business and get them on board? When Uber slashed rates their drivers were up in arms. Little did the same late last year and we didn’t hear of any protests. Why? Can someone tell us why? Technology is meant to enhance the ease of doing business for investors and easy access to products and services for consumers. It should not be a catalyst for singing mapambano every three months on the streets. Something is terribly wrong with Uber and we need to march over to Little offices and demand that they step up and absorb these disgruntled drivers. After all Little are Kenyan Tax payers so why not build them instead?

Surely for a 26 year old to fail to bring in at least a thousand bob per day while spending his entire day on the move shuttling people irrespective of the security situation, then have your car shattered like this senseless, there has to be a way out!