Taxi operators attack Uber drivers in Nairobi

Taxi commuters in Nairobi are caught up in what is turning out to be a vicious and violent war between established cab operators and the new entrant, Uber Taxi Services.

The disruptive mobile app has been recruiting taxi drivers with valid driving and PSV licences, clean traffic records and operating vehicles not older that seven years.

Uber cabs offer commuters relatively cheap fares and convenience compared to the conventional taxi operators, who are now accusing Uber of undercutting them.

This has seen Uber taxi operators attacked and threatened over the last few weeks.

A commuter makes a request via the Uber mobile app, which is responded to by an Uber driver. The app also displays the driver and his vehicle model and number plate and the cost of the ride and the time it will take to reach one’s destination.

Martin, who has been a taxi driver for 20 years is among the taxi drivers who signed up for Uber when it entered the market last year.

Charging commuters 90 shillings a kilometer, commuters are spending less than half the price charged by the conventional taxis.

And for takers like Martin and users of Uber, its pricing model makes financial sense.

“I used to work from Monday to Thursday and go home on Friday to freshen up then return to work till Sunday, yet sometimes I couldn’t find work,” said Martin, adding that he now takes home a profit of Sh5000 per day.

Over the last few weeks though, Uber taxi drivers have been attacked and others threatened allegedly by conventional taxi operators, who find their pricing model unfair.

An email from Uber Africa acknowledges the “isolated instances of intimidation towards Uber driver-partners…”adding that they… “have been engaging with taxi associations since last year to find a way that we can partner with them.”

Since it entered the market over a year ago, the Uber app’s popularity has spread like wild fire especially among commuters, but for the conventional taxi operator, uber’s pricing model is undercutting them and costing them their livelihood.

Josephat, a taxi operator said: “we are servicing loans and paying the city council yet they are given free fuel.”

Price remains key for commuters; our Uber ride from Kilimani to Westlands cost us just Sh300. However, a ride back to Kilimani on an ordinary taxi cost us four times more. It however appears that a number of taxi operators are changing tact.

In the meantime, Uber taxi drivers like martin are changing tact, while the conventional taxi operators weigh their options.