Uber, Taxify users to pay more as Lagos issues new regulations

Passenger fare is most likely to surge as ride-hailing services in Lagos including Uber, Taxify and private taxi drivers will now operate under new regulatory guidelines.

In January, Lagos had announced the ban of commercial activities of motorcycles and tricycles in 15 council areas within the state, while other ride-hailing services such as taxis were not affected.

The new guidelines will take effect from August 20, 2020. The new guidelines also stipulate new licence fees which differ depending on the number of vehicles owned by the operator.

“There is an urgent need to upgrade the existing guidelines for the operation of taxi business in the state based on the reality of insecurity and safety confronting the sector (transportation) as people of questionable characters have hijacked the process which has resulted into increased road crashes, kidnapping, robbery, pollution and insecurity, thereby eroding the confidence of the general public in taxi business,” a draft document titled “Guidelines for Online Hailing Business Operation of Taxi in Lagos State”, read.

For operating licence, companies (ride-hailing services) that have less than 1,000 taxis will pay N10 million, while those that have more than 1,000 vehicles will pay N25 million.

Companies with less than 1,000 taxis are expected to pay an annual renewable fee of N5 million, while it’s N10 million for those with more than 1,000 taxis. Also, ride-hailing service providers will pay 10 percent service tax to the state on each transaction paid by the passengers to the operators.

Among other regulatory fees, ride-hailing service providers are expected to also grant the ministry of transportation access to their database.