Drivers registered to ride-hailing firms Uber, Bolt and Little Cab have announced their plans to switch off their services if the operators fail to adjust fares and commissions amid the increased fuel charges.

The operators have stated that their take-home has drastically reduced. This has made it hard for drivers with car loans to meet their daily needs and also keep up with repayments in an environment of static fares and commission.

This comes about a month after the government raised the petrol prices to a nine-year high due to rising crude oil costs in the global market. A litre of petrol in Nairobi currently retails at a minimum of KES 107.66.

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These drivers via their commission E-hailing Transporters Kenya have now threatened to call off operations if their demands are not met within a month.

“We hereby issue a 30-day notice to all the defiant apps that we shall be switching off and deleting all those apps at the end of the 30 days,” said the lobby’s secretary-general Wycliffe Alutalala.

Uber, pays a commission of 25% while Bolt and Little Cab drivers get to earn 20 and 19 per cent respectively.

The drivers now want the commissions to be capped at below 15 per cent of the trip fare to improve their fortunes.

Some operators allege that a KES1,000 trip leaves them under Sh250, with up to Sh250 going to the app’s owners and Sh500 to fuel. Other trip charges include data bundles and airtime.

The drivers have staged regular strikes and protests in Nairobi in recent years over low fares, prompting the operators to make occasional increases. Lawmakers and Ministry of Transport officials also supported a higher price.