Uber’s exit from Africa’s most populous country is set to intensify competition among ride-hailing companies, as competitors move to capture drivers and passengers left behind by one of the sector’s biggest players.
The platform’s departure after being in operations for 12 years, is expected to reshape Nigeria’s competitive e-hailing market, as other platforms position themselves to capture its market share.
“Nigeria’s ride-hailing market is large and active, but it is a high-cost, low-margin business. Riders want cheap, available trips, while drivers carry almost all the cash costs,” Ayoade Ibrahim, co-founder & secretary general of the Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATON), said.
Ibrahim said that riders have used multiple apps to compare prices, and fewer serious options means less discipline on surge and base fares, highlighting the recent issue with airport officials when Uber and Bolt access was restricted, conventional airport cabs pushed prices up sharply, with reports of fares rising by about 50 percent.
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