"Kenya's Digital Taxi Services Paralyzed, Strike Enters 4th Day"

Drivers of Kenya's digital taxis shut down operations...in protest of what they term as exploitative corporate practices. They say the firms are charging low rates to their clients, yet imposing high commissions on the drivers, leading them to work longer hours with little pay. The Digital Taxi Association of Kenya, representing more than 2,000 digital taxi drivers, is in the fourth day of a protest that has seen drivers switch off their services, stalling transportation in the country. The drivers say client charges have reduced over time as more digital taxi apps enter the market, but their commissions to the taxi firms have remained the same.

The drivers are demanding a review of their rates and working conditions. Through their association, they want the digital taxi services to double their client rates and reduce driver commissions to the companies so they can earn decent wages. "The fare itself, it has been very low from the word go," said Anthony Maina, an Uber driver in Kenya. "The percentage after they get their commission, we get very little returns." Uber charges a 25 percent commission on each ride, while apps like Taxify charge 15 percent. The drivers want rates at least doubled per kilometer, and commissions slashed to 10 percent. Kenya Digital Taxi Services Director David Muteru is calling on Kenya's Ministry of Transport to resolve the issue. "All these things are happening where we have government agencies who can [take care of all these things] without having pressure from us," Muteru said. "It is not our wish to come here and start demonstrating. Our demand is that we must have regulations. [The pricing] is very skewed in favor of the app companies to the detriment of drivers."...

Digital Taxi Association representatives in Kenya are in negotiations with the taxi firms and Kenya's Ministry of Transport as their strike continues.