Uber and Bolt drivers have called on ride hailing companies operating in Nigeria to conduct proper profiling of riders in order to stop frequent killing of drivers by criminally minded users.

Ibrahim Ayoade, President, National Union of Professional App-based Transport Workers (NUPABTW), made the call at a news conference on Monday in Lagos.

Mr Ayoade called on both the federal and state governments where ride hailing companies were operating to call them to order and regulate their activities.

“Ride hailing companies have failed to provide a safe platform for drivers to operate, they did not respect the law of the land and wellness of the drivers on their platform.

“We call on the government to involve us in formulating good regulations for these ride hailing companies operating in Nigeria so as to carry all stakeholders along.

“Ride hailing companies should be compelled to do proper profiling of riders; what they are after is their commission.

“Bolt charges 20% while Uber charges 25% of the trip cost. They place more priorities on their money than the security of the drivers,” he said.

Mr Ayoade said that many riders were criminals with the intention to kill the driver and steal their cars.

He explained that if a rider knew that his data was properly profiled and would be tracked down if he commits any crime, there would not be any case of driver’s being killed for the purpose of stealing their vehicles. 

“Many riders are fake riders, killers and armed robbers; we still lost another driver to these people on Sunday morning.

“These deadly acts continue because ride hailing companies have little or no regard for the safety of their drivers by not profiling riders,” he said.

Mr Ayoade said that the attitude of ride hailing companies in Nigeria were due to the failure of the government to provide decent jobs for youths in the country.

“Majority of us are degree holders, we step down our certificates to take up driving jobs with these companies.

“Many of us hold certificates that can make us work with multinational corporations but took car on hire purchases just to survive, we want the government to come to our rescue so as to save lives of youths of this country who are being wasted on a daily basis,” he said.

(NAN)