Vehicle financing company Moove has authorised its drivers in Nigeria to operate on other ride-hailing platforms, including Bolt and inDrive, following Uber’s decision to exit the Nigerian market.
According to technext24.com, the move, communicated to Moove drivers in an official notice seen by Technext, gives drivers greater flexibility to continue earning through alternative platforms.
Recall that Uber, which is also one of Moove’s biggest investors, have an exclusive agreement with the vehicle financing company for its drivers to operate exclusively on the Uber app, under its UberGo offering. Following Uber’s exit, drivers quickly found themselves in no man’s land, with many of them wondering what would become of them and their vehicles.
But the company has now cleared the air, informing the drivers that following the exit of their exclusive partner, they are free to operate on other platforms like Bolt and inDrive.
”Kindly note that our business operations will proceed as usual until further notice, and you are free to continue operating through alternative ride-hailing platforms,” the company said.
It also stated that additional updates will be shared in due course, and if drivers have further inquiries, they can contact their Performance Executive directly.
READ: Africa: Uber To Exit Nigeria, Uganda as 3,300 Job Cuts Fuel Driverless Future Push
Moove drivers react even as they get what they always wanted
Recall that Moove drivers, popularly called Uber Korope because of their miniature hunch-back Suzuki Espresso cars, are only allowed to operate on the Uber Go platform. This is because they obtained their vehicles through a vehicle financing loan scheme.
This scheme requires them to make loan repayments every week for four years.
This arrangement, however, severely limits the amount of business the drivers could do in a day. This is made worse by the fact that rides are generally scarce on the platform, a testament to Uber’s dwindling fortunes.
This was affecting their ability to meet their obligations, take care of their loved ones, and live meaningful lives. As such, they have constantly sought permission to operate across other apps and increase their chances of earning a decent income.
The company has consistently refused, insisting that it restricts drivers to the Uber app because it needs to generate productivity data that will power suitable financing products. That productivity data can’t be generated if the drivers are juggling several apps.
However, the drivers are finally getting their wish, but not even that is going down well with them.
“What about the remittance? We need to talk about it,” one driver said, pointing to the vehicle financing repayment plan.
Another driver, responding to the matter of remittance, said: We should perhaps be expecting estimated billing based on meter reading until they can come up with their own app.
“What about drivers that do not have other apps? What will happen to their cars after the years of commitment and contribution so far? Moove is totally inconsiderate,” another driver said.
Another driver expressed the possibility of further fare crashes, noting that: More drivers will move to inDrive and the price will drop. The competition will be between drivers, and riders will be kings.
Uber may have left the country, but it leaves a lot to be figured out in its wake. It remains to be seen how Moove moves on from here.
