A push to regulate commissions charged by digital taxi operators on drivers has been revived after the regulation made the list of 18 that have been reintroduced in Parliament for scrutiny.
The regulations were submitted to Parliament when the 12th Parliament went on indefinite recess ahead of the August 9 election.
Speaker Moses Wetang'ula said some of the regulations were forwarded to the National Assembly after the inauguration of the 13th Parliament.
“A transport network agreement shall contain the following— the commission which shall be paid by a transport network driver or a transport network owner to the transport network company, shall not exceed eighteen percent of the total earnings per trip,” the regulations states.
Drivers have, for years, been raising the alarm that higher commissions hurt their earnings.
Uber charges 25 percent commission per ride while Bolt and Little charge 20 percent and 15 percent respectively. “The statutory instrument in question seeks to regulate the provision of Transport Network Services that are rapidly expanding and are offering new transport modes for individuals who have difficulty driving or accessing public transportation,” James Macharia, the Transport Cabinet Secretary said in an explanatory memo to Parliament.
Parliament can approve or annul any regulation that is inconsistent with the Constitution, Acts or any other law. The taxi services industry is governed under the Traffic Act and the Nairobi county taxicab by-laws.
Taxi drivers have for years gone on strike to complain about the high commission charged on their fees.
This forced the NTSA in June to publish new regulations to cap the commission at 18 percent. They have, however, been challenged in court by Uber, which maintains that the move will hit investment and competition.
