ORide launched May 2019 in Lagos, to join the fleet of existing bike-hailing services, and spread rapidly throughout the notorious “traffic” city.
Its strategic expansion throughout the city and avalanches of discounts and promos available to passengers, quickly grew its perception as the leading bike-hailing service and in fact, a major threat to the strongest competitor in the game – the darker Green bike-hailing service.
The effect of this was widely believed to have caused them to undergo an overhaul of activities, in a frantic attempt to address operational challenges. More so, the reputation of its parent company Opera Mini and rounds of generous seed funding it received, solidified the fate and presence of the bike-hailing company.
ORide was winning! Or perceived to have been.
However, on the 29th of October 2019, photos of a non-violent protest staged by riders of the company in front of the company gate will distort this narrative. A source, confirmed to TechCity that the protest is due to non-payment of dues by OPay to the riders.
The source also confirms that riders have suspended operations via the OPay app, as riders refused to embark on trips and one who finally agreed to, was admonished by his colleagues. Cash payment however, would be the only way around it. An indication of an online boycott.
This will come as a shocker judging by posts on the company’s social media pages which indicate fair treatment of drivers in form of appreciation and monetary compensation.
Upon enquiry from a Team Lead at OPay, he states that this is totally untrue and they are not owing any rider money. The protest was purely to address harassment of their riders.
Corroborating the Team Lead’s comment, the Senior Director of Operations (ORide) at OPay, Ridwan Olalere explains:
“We have been talking with the Ministry of Transportation and also the road transport workers union. These conversations are taking some time as we continue to engage with each other. The ultimate goal for us is to reach an agreement that will see every party content with the outcome. We are working very hard to ensure the rider experience is free of any hassle”.
This statement explains the situation of things, to state the bigger issue here; which is with the Ministry of Transportation and road transport workers union.
The photos show individuals believed to be staff of the company, addressing the very angry but non-violent riders through the fenced gate.
This article has been updated to include the statement from the Senior Director of Operations and a Team Lead at ORide.
