Lagos State and Ride-Hailing Companies Agree on New Charges

Lagos State Government and ride-hailing companies have finally reached a workable agreement following the sudden imposition of charges on ride-hailing companies operating the state.

In a statement signed by Gboyega Akosile, the Chief Press Secretary to the state governor and titled ‘Lagos govt, e-hailing operators agree on new regulation’, the Lagos State Government said the ride-hailing companies will now be paying N20 known as Road Improvement Fund on each trip their drivers make in a day effective from August 27.

In the statement, the Commissioner for Transportation, Frederic Oladehinde, said Governor Sanwo-Olu has offered ride-hailing companies a 20 percent duty incentive. This means that each ride-hailing company will now pay N8 million for operational licence and renewal fee per 1,000 cars, instead of the N10 million previously announced.

He said: “We have just concluded a three-hour meeting which was attended by Governor Sanwo-Olu, Ministry of Transportation officials and representatives of the e-hailing ride operators. After the meeting, we jointly developed a communique to which all parties agreed in relation to the new regulations for e-hailing ride business.

“The regulations for the e-hailing companies will take effect from August 27, 2020. We have given an additional one-week extension for all operators to comply. Given that most of the drivers on the e-hailing platforms have third party insurance, the companies will have comprehensive insurance for each driver while the driver is working with them. The insurance will also cover passengers, which amounts to double insurance for the driver.

“We also discussed the issue of service tax, which was initially defined as 10 per cent charge. We have come to resolution that the levy will become a flat fee of N20 per trip. We no longer call it service tax; we now call it Road Improvement Fund, which will be levied per trip. We also came to resolution that there will be reduction in operational licence by 20 per cent. Likewise, the renewal fee has been reduced by 20 per cent, going forward.”