No More Cheap Rides: Kenya’s Government Puts The Brakes on Ride-Hailing Apps’ ‘Exploitation’

Kenya’s cab riders will soon pay more for their trips if ride-hailing apps Uber and Bolt comply with the government’s directive to adopt new pricing and payment standards. The directive, issued by Kenya’s Ministry for Roads And Transport, comes after the Transport Workers Union-Kenya (TAWU) threatened to sue both companies, claiming “exploitative and unfair labour practices”, and after cab drivers around the country downed their tools and hit the streets in protest in early November 2025.

The conflict between ride-hailing apps and their drivers has been a long one; drivers have consistently argued existing fares are too low to sustain both their work and their livelihoods. Many drivers find it difficult to pay basic monthly bills, or to service, maintain and fuel their vehicles to appropriate standards. Justus Mutua, spokesperson for the Amalgamation of Digital Taxis Associations in Kenya, said in a statement that this price suppression has resulted in a spiral of “reduced earnings, overwork, loan defaults, and a rise in vehicle repossessions.”

This week, the Government finally sided with the drivers. The Ministry of Transport has directed app owners to comply immediately with the pricing recommendations issued by the Automobile Association of Kenya (AAK) starting 2023.

In this new directive, the rates have been revised to include a substantial increase in per-kilometre earnings, representing roughly a 50% adjustment:

• Small engines (up to 1050cc): Pay per kilometre jumps from approximately Sh22 (USD 0.17) to Sh33.1 (USD 0.25).
• Medium engines (between 1051cc and 1300cc): Pay per kilometre moves to Sh36.8 (USD 0.28), up from Sh26 (USD 0.20).

Paul King’ori, the Director for Road and Railways Transport, speaking on behalf of Kenya’s Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir, said, “App owners must use the AAK rates. We have also communicated with the World Bank to engage a consultancy to help draft the National Taxi Pricing Policy as a long-term strategy to improve the sector. Let us be patient.”

He added: “You (digital taxi app owners) should provide a formal response to this office within seven days outlining the steps you have taken to address these legitimate grievances. We have given them a week because the companies are global and must consult widely,” he said.

National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA)’s Head of Licensing, Yahya Ahmed, confirmed that while the 2023 advisory had been communicated to the ride-hailing app owners, it was never enforced due to the lack of a unified regulatory framework. Drivers are insistent that the app owners comply with the directive within the seven-day period, following which they have promised more protests should there be a lack of compliance.

Meanwhile, riders have approached this directive with wariness, in anticipation of price hikes in the midst of rising inflation, over-taxation, and unemployment rates in Kenya. While relations with often hostile drivers are expected to improve, drivers might end up feeling the pinch as more riders ditch cabs and opt for cheaper transport facilities such as motorbikes or passenger buses.