Lagos State Government has released new transport regulations that would result in ride-hailing companies and taxi operators paying licence fees to function in the state.
It was gathered that the guideline which is set to be effective from August 20 would see passengers pay more for services from the likes of Uber, Bolt amongst other private taxi operators in the state.
In January, the state government placed a ban on commercial motorcycles and tricycles in 15 local government areas. The ban exempted other ride-hailing services, such as taxis.
The new guidelines were contained in a draft document, titled: Guidelines for Online Hailing Business Operation of Taxi in Lagos. The state Government attributed the need for the guidelines to alleged infiltration of the sector by individuals with criminal intent.
The guidelines stipulates that for operating licence, companies (ride-hailing services) that have less than 1,000 taxis will pay N10 million, while those that have more than 1,000 vehicles will pay N25 million.
Companies with less than 1,000 taxis are expected to pay an annual renewable fee of N5 million, while those with more than 1,000 taxis will pay N10 million.
Also, ride-hailing service providers will pay 10 per cent service tax to the state on each transaction paid by the passengers to the operators.
Among other regulatory fees, ride-hailing service providers are expected to grant the Ministry of Transportation access to their database.
