Ride-hailing: OOD wants 1.5× fares as expert says four years of fixes failed
Key points
- OOD wants a 1.5× fare multiplier, lifting a typical ~Sh220 minimum toward about Sh330.
- An anonymous industry expert maps a 2022–26 cycle: 18% service-fee cap, then booking-fee removal, then fare and transparency fights — protests continued.
- The expert wants an independent study of costs, volumes and past rules, plus surveys of ~10,000 drivers and 5,000 passengers.
- Ride-hailing is put at about Sh50 billion a year; a sharp minimum-fare hike could cut short-trip volumes by more than a third, the expert said.
The latest bid from the Organisation of Online Drivers is a 1.5 times multiplier — about Sh220 becoming roughly Sh330 on the floor fare, Eastleigh Voice reported.
An industry expert, speaking anonymously, says that number is another lap in a four-year circle. In 2022 drivers protested commissions; government capped the service fee at 18 per cent. In 2023 the fight moved to booking fees and the fee was dropped. In 2024 the complaint was low fares; in 2025 it was price transparency; in 2026 it is the minimum. “There is a very clear historical trend to say, drivers complain, they say, this issue, government does that. Doesn’t fix the issue, drivers complain again!” The expert wants a professional, independent review of what those rules actually did, plus a survey of thousands of working drivers — “Have they done a survey of 10,000 drivers who genuinely work on the platforms for a living?” — and of passengers who would pay the new floor. The same voice puts the sector at about Sh50 billion a year and warns a steep minimum could wipe more than a third of short trips as people walk or take matatus, while car notes still fall due. Regulation, the expert said, should sit on safety, insurance, licensing and standards: “should not touch pricing.”
A multiplier is not a cost study
Sh330 on a two-kilometre hop will show up as empty back seats before it shows up as a living wage. NTSA and the ICT ministry should publish trip-level data from 2022–26 before another gazette.
Transport desk: Energy & Transport. Verified 1.5× / Sh220–330, 18% cap timeline and Sh50 billion estimate from Eastleigh Voice.
Government should name who represents drivers besides OOD. Platforms should open anonymised trip and take-home series to the independent review.
Passengers should be in the same consultation; they pay the multiplier.
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Based on Eastleigh Voice reporting of the OOD proposal and an anonymous expert. Fare changes are not law.
