The protest by Yango drivers in Windhoek exposes a troubling contradiction: drivers want the benefits of a modern ride-hailing platform while demanding pricing arrangements that risk turning it into the traditional taxi industry it was designed to disrupt.
Their demands include a N$30 minimum fare, higher waiting fees, passenger-based pricing and compensation for cancelled trips. Rising fuel and maintenance costs are legitimate concerns, but they do not automatically justify rewriting a business model built around affordability, convenience and transparent pricing.
Joining Yango is voluntary. Nobody forces drivers onto the platform. If its commercial terms are no longer viable, drivers can explore competing platforms or register as conventional taxi operators, where the applicable N$15 per passenger fare operates differently from ride-hailing pricing.
Particularly concerning is the demand for higher waiting fees when complaints have also been raised about alleged abuse of waiting time by some drivers. Passengers should not face increased charges without safeguards against drivers manipulating arrival notifications, delaying pickups or triggering waiting charges unfairly.
These allegations require scrutiny, not automatic acceptance as established misconduct. Nevertheless, any discussion about increasing waiting fees must first address accountability, accurate arrival tracking and effective passenger complaints mechanisms.
Ride-hailing platforms succeed because they offer something traditional taxis have often struggled to deliver consistently: predictable pricing, convenient booking and greater customer control.
Introducing passenger-based charges and substantially higher minimum fares risks destroying that competitive advantage.
Namibia cannot reasonably expect an international technology platform to abandon its underlying commercial model whenever participating drivers become dissatisfied with its terms.
This does not mean Yango should escape criticism. Drivers deserve transparent trip information, fair cancellation procedures and clear payment arrangements. But fairness must extend to passengers, who also face rising living costs.
The fundamental question is whether drivers want to operate within a ride-hailing system or recreate conventional taxi practices under a digital brand.
They cannot demand the commercial freedom of independent operators while expecting guaranteed earnings at customers’ expense.
Innovation requires adaptation, not resistance to change. If the model no longer works for individual drivers, the answer is to reassess participation, not dismantle the convenience and affordability that attracted customers in the first place.
Briefly is a weekly column that is opinionated and analytical. It sifts through the noise to make sense of the numbers, trends and headlines shaping business and the economy with insight, wit and just enough scepticism to keep things interesting. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE NOT OUR OWN, we simply relay them as part of the conversation.
