Uber Kenya has announced a review on its fare prices in the next two weeks, in response to rising fuel prices in Kenya.
This is after Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) announced a Ksh.9 price per litre increase for diesel, kerosene and super petrol on June 14th 2022.
Uber head of East Africa Imran Manji said the company is working on a price review to factor in the recent fuel rise and find a “sweet spot between not destroying demand by pricing and ensuring that drivers cover their costs.”
“It’s a difficult situation in the market right now because as the cost of living of everybody goes up, the affordability of things like ride-hailing comes into question. If we raise our prices too high we are limiting how many people are going to be using our services and also limiting the driver of earnings,” said Manji as quoted by Business Daily.
EPRA’s latest announcement came as a fuel shock to Kenyans who are already grappling with a higher cost of living in the country.
Uber’s review is set to ensure its drivers are able to earn and sustain themselves even with the high prices currently being experienced within the country.
Digital taxi drivers from Uber and Bolt have in the past complained about high fuel prices eating into their earnings, forcing them to unearth other sources of income in order to sustain themselves.
This will be Uber’s second review after another was made in February when fuel prices went up by Ksh.5 per litre.