Starting from August 27, a levy of N20 on each trip has been imposed on drivers of ride-hailing operators by Lagos State Government and it is called road improvement fund.
Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Gboyega Akosile disclosed this on Friday in a statement entitled ‘Lagos govt, e-hailing operators agree on new regulations’.
Akosile, in his statement said a meeting between the state government and representatives of the ride-hailing operators was held on Friday, with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in attendance.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladehinde, said the state government and the operators had unanimously adopted the new regulations, after all parties jointly reviewed and fine-tuned some of the contentious items in the framework.
He said they reached an agreement on the controversial service tax, which is to be known as road improvement fund.
He said the new regulations were not initiated by the government to extort the operators and drivers in the business, adding that the government was moved by the necessity to regularise the ride-hailing operations in line with security measures.
He also revealed that the governor offered a duty incentive to the operators, reducing their statutory operational licencing fee and renewal fee by 20 per cent.
“This implies that each e-hailing firm will now pay N8m per 1,000 cars fresh licencing and renewal, instead of N10m initially announced,” the statement said.
The parties, Oladehinde said, also agreed on procurement of comprehensive insurance by the e-hailing companies to cover their drivers and passengers.
He added that the state government had granted all drivers on the e-hailing platforms an extension of 90 days to perfect all documents and licences, required for operation, including driver’s licence and Lagos State Residents Registration Agency cards.
The per-trip levy is coming 6 months after Lagos State government made it mandatory for drivers of the ride-hailing platforms to be certified by the Lagos Drivers’ Institute (LASDRI) before they can operate in the state.