Uber Left. Moove Left. Now Lagos Drivers Are Being Told to Delete inDrive

For four days this week, a big chunk of Lagos ride-hailing simply switched off. Drivers in the Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATON) parked their cars from Monday, October 12, refusing to take trips on Bolt and inDrive until the platforms listened.

On Friday, October 16, the union called the shutdown off. But it did not end quietly. AUATON told its members to uninstall inDrive and move to smaller local apps instead. That is a remarkable thing to tell drivers in a market that has just lost Uber and Moove in the space of five weeks.

What happened

The Lagos State Council of AUATON started what it called an indefinite shutdown on October 12. Union reports said cars were off the road in areas from Ikeja and Yaba to Lekki, Ajah and Ikorodu. The drivers' message was simple: they can no longer work at a loss while fuel, repairs, insurance, data and car financing keep getting more expensive.

Their main demands were:

A cap of 10% on the commission platforms take from each trip

Fairer fares and clear explanations of how fares and deductions are calculated

Better welfare, insurance and safety cover

A fair process before any driver is deactivated

Real talks with driver representatives

Bolt agreed to a roundtable with the union, saying it would engage "in good faith" on earnings, costs, charges and welfare. inDrive took a different line. Its country director, Timothy Oladimeji, said the company still charges the lowest commission fee in the industry. The union said inDrive never reached out for meaningful talks, and that is why it is now urging drivers to delete the app.

AUATON chairman Jaiyesimi Azeez made it clear the fight is not over: "The struggle does not end because the shutdown has ended." The union is pointing members to local alternatives it named as MyKab, Randbax and SimpliRide.

The key numbers

12 years: how long Uber ran in Nigeria before it ended operations on September 2, 2026.

9,000+: customers Moove served in Nigeria before announcing on October 8 that it was winding down its business here.

₦35 billion: the value of cars Moove says it is handing to eligible drivers with no further payments due.

10%: the commission cap drivers want. Driver accounts reported by Nairametrics put Uber and Bolt deductions near 25%. Bolt says its rate is 20% in Lagos and 21% in Abuja.

60%+: how much Lagos petrol prices rose this year, from about ₦800 a litre in late February to roughly ₦1,300 by mid-April, according to Nairametrics.

Why this strike hits differently

Driver protests over commissions are not new in Lagos. What is new is the backdrop. With Uber gone, Bolt and inDrive are the biggest names left, and Moove's exit took away a major car-financing option for drivers. Moove itself said Uber's departure materially changed its operating environment.

So when a union tells drivers to quit one of the two major apps left standing, it is a bet that smaller local platforms can absorb that demand. Whether drivers follow the call, and whether riders follow the drivers, is still an open question.

What this means for Nigerians

If you ride in Lagos, expect fewer cars on inDrive if the boycott sticks, which could mean longer waits or higher prices at peak times. If you drive, the push for a 10% cap is a direct fight over your take-home pay at a time when petrol eats more of every fare. Eligible former Moove customers now keep their cars with nothing more to pay, so they can choose any app, including the local ones the union is backing. For local startups like MyKab and SimpliRide, this is a rare opening to win drivers, but only if they can match the big apps on rider numbers and payments.

What to watch next

Watch for the outcome of Bolt's roundtable with AUATON and whether any platform moves on commissions. Also watch whether inDrive opens talks with the union, and whether Lagos State or the Nigeria Labour Congress steps in. If nothing changes, the union has said it will keep organising, so another shutdown is possible.

Sources: Nairametrics, The Guardian Nigeria, Technext, P.M. News, BusinessDay, Ripples Nigeria