The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) says Uber’s Nigeria exit has nothing to do with the new Airport Car Hire Rank Management System (ACHRAMS).
FAAN Managing Director, Mrs Olubunmi Kuku, disclosed this while briefing newsmen on Friday in Lagos.
Kuku said that Uber’s decision to leave the Nigerian market was based on the company’s own economic and regulatory considerations.
She explained that FAAN’s responsibility was limited to ensuring passenger safety, protection and a seamless experience within the airport environment.
“I am sure that they had their own reason, and I know that they had been considering exiting Nigeria for a while,” Kuku said.
She noted that the airport represented only a small part of Uber’s operations in Nigeria and that FAAN had no jurisdiction over the company’s wider business activities.
The FAAN managing director said that ACHRAMS was introduced primarily to address passenger complaints over airport transport services and provide regulatory oversight and visibility over car-hire operators.
According to her, FAAN received several complaints, particularly during the December holiday season, from passengers who used e-hailing and car-hire services at airports.
She said some passengers reported experiences ranging from intimidation to being dropped at unintended locations, while some incidents were even more serious.
“We did have situations where some of the Uber and Bolt drivers would get down from their cars under the guise of coming into the airport as e-hailing drivers, and they would join the car hires to charge higher fares,” she said.
According to Kuku, the complaints, alongside concerns over touting at airports, made it necessary for FAAN to strengthen oversight of airport car-hire operations.
She clarified that ACHRAMS was not an e-hailing application but a system designed to provide visibility on registered car-hire companies and the drivers conveying passengers from the airport to their destinations.
“The app that was developed was strictly to focus on the fact that you have visibility on who the car-hire companies are. You know who the driver that is taking you from Point A to Point B is,” she said.
Kuku said that FAAN did not collect fares on behalf of the drivers and that the car-hire operators were not its employees.
“All we do is to give you a sample of the rates based on the destination that you’re going,” she said.
She also emphasised that passengers remained free to choose their preferred mode of airport transportation, including pre-booked vehicles, e-hailing services or airport car-hire operators.
“It is the choice of the passenger whether you want to pre-book your cars, whether you want to use the e-hailing app, or whether you want to use the car hires, we have no jurisdiction over that,” she said.
The FAAN managing director explained that airport car-hire operators generally charged higher fares because their business model involved transporting passengers from the airport to their destinations and returning to the airport.
On FAAN’s engagement with e-hailing companies, Kuku identified liability for drivers as one of the major areas of disagreement.
She said e-hailing companies had requested dedicated pick-up zones at airports, which FAAN agreed to.
She said, however, that the authority also sought greater responsibility from the companies for the conduct and safety of drivers operating through their platforms.
She said the companies maintained that the drivers were independent operators rather than employees of the e-hailing companies.
“They wanted us to give them dedicated pickup zones, which we agreed to, but we also wanted them to take responsibilities for the drivers,” he said.
Kuku said the companies wanted passengers to depend on their in-app safety features, a stance FAAN described as problematic.
“That was a major issue for us,” she said.
Kuku reiterated that FAAN’s introduction of ACHRAMS should not be interpreted as an attempt to restrict passenger choice or force travellers to use airport car-hire services.
She stated that the authority’s primary objective was to ensure that passengers using transport services within the airport environment could identify the operators and drivers conveying them.
Kuku maintained that Uber’s decision to exit Nigeria should therefore be viewed separately from FAAN’s airport transport management measures.
