Why reserving a journey in Nigeria now means hopping right into a jalopy 

Just a few weeks in the past, I used to be heading to the airport on a visit again to Nigeria and did what many people have grown accustomed to requested a journey via an app.

I chosen an everyday sedan and, as was typically the case overseas, a clear, modern Tesla confirmed up. Easy journey, air-conditioned, silent hum, well mannered driver. It was the type of expertise that reminded you ways far know-how has taken transportation.

Quick-forward just a few days. I land in Lagos and repeat the identical course of, reserving a journey utilizing one of many acquainted apps. The automotive that exhibits up? Nicely… let’s simply say it was no Tesla.

It was a correct jalopy wheezing engine, torn upholstery, and door handles that felt like they could come off in your hand. A automotive with the soul of a Peugeot 504 and the drained bones of a automobile that’s been in a single too many pothole battles.

This isn’t only a one-off. The ride-hailing panorama in Nigeria is slowly however certainly resembling the very factor it as soon as disrupted: the legendary yellow-and-black cabs that used to roam Lagos like territorial lions. In the event you grew up in Lagos, you already know precisely what I imply.

These outdated, creaky taxis—Peugeots, Nissan Sunnys, and Toyota Crowns—piloted by stern-faced males with many years of driving expertise and little or no curiosity in dialog. These automobiles had been typically held collectively by hope, wire, and duct tape.

Then got here the ride-hailing revolution.

However fast-forward to 2025, and issues are beginning to crumble actually. The automobiles are older. The seats are torn. The air con? Struggling to breathe out. The drivers? Typically overworked and underpaid.

Most of the automobiles now moonlighting as ride-hailing automobiles are modern-day jalopies, attempting to move for sedans.

In the event you’ve taken a journey from the Abuja airport lately, or hailed one within the outskirts of Lekki, you’ve most likely had the pleasure of sitting in a single: a automotive that must be amassing a pension.

So what occurred? 

Nicely, it’s a cocktail of financial misfortune and damaged enterprise fashions.

First, the platforms themselves have moved away from the high-burn, growth-at-all-costs mannequin. Within the early days, drivers had been rewarded handsomely—bonuses, excessive per-trip earnings, and beneficiant incentives. However right now, with the give attention to sustainability and revenue, payouts are leaner, and bonuses are uncommon. Drivers are incomes much less per journey, whilst their bills rise.

Second, the price of buying and sustaining an honest automobile has shot via the roof. The naira has been battered by devaluation, making it almost unimaginable to import pretty used automobiles on the value level that after sustained the trade.

A Toyota Camry 2010 was a decent ride-hailing automotive. Lately, drivers are clinging to decade-older Corollas with 300,000km on the odometer and suspensions that scream at each bump.

Then there’s gas. What used to price N160 per litre now hovers round N1000. Bigger automobiles devour extra gas, so drivers understandably default to smaller, extra fuel-efficient (albeit weary) automobiles.

And since earnings haven’t saved up, sustaining the automobiles is a luxurious many drivers can not afford.

Let’s additionally not neglect the social shift. Within the early days, middle-class Nigerians seeking to make more money listed their automobiles on ride-hailing platforms.

Now, that demographic has both japa’d or discovered better-paying facet hustles. What’s left is a crop of full-time drivers, lots of whom are simply attempting to outlive in a punishing economic system.

A story of two markets 

Now evaluate this to cities in North America or Europe, the place Teslas, Toyotas, and well-maintained sedans nonetheless dominate ride-hailing fleets. Sure, they’ve their share of older automobiles too—however the enterprise mannequin makes monetary sense.

A ten-minute journey in Toronto might price $20, about N32,000. In Lagos, the identical journey is perhaps N1,500.

A 50-minute airport run overseas can set you again $100 (N160,000), in comparison with round N25,000 in Nigeria—for those who’re fortunate, it might price much less.

This isn’t nearly labour prices. It’s additionally about entry to credit score.

Within the West, shopping for a automotive on credit score is as regular as shopping for bread. Drivers can finance first rate automobiles and nonetheless flip a revenue. In Nigeria? Good luck.

With out collateral or a powerful credit score profile, it’s almost unimaginable to entry financing for a automotive appropriate for ride-hailing.

Many resort to leasing already-battered automobiles on punitive phrases or settling for Nigerian-used automobiles—automobiles which have already seen a number of lifetimes.

What’s subsequent for ride-hailing? 

The decline within the high quality of ride-hailing automobiles isn’t simply inconvenient—it’s a rising security concern.

It additionally chips away at client belief in what was as soon as a promising improve to Nigeria’s chaotic transport ecosystem. However until one thing adjustments, the pattern will solely worsen.

So, what may be achieved? 

• Credit score schemes for drivers – Authorities and personal sector gamers can collaborate to supply structured credit score for automobile acquisition. These might be tied to journey earnings and managed via respected channels. Some are doing this already, nevertheless it must be extra aggressively applied.
• Leverage the automotive coverage – Nigeria’s automobile meeting trade might be plugged into the ride-hailing economic system. Let native assemblers produce inexpensive automobiles that meet fundamental requirements. This creates jobs whereas fixing a mobility disaster.
• Sort out the macroeconomic ache factors – You’ll be able to’t repair ride-hailing with out addressing inflation, international change instability, and power prices. A secure naira, inexpensive gas, and higher entry to credit score would go a great distance.
• Minimal requirements enforcement: – Trip-hailing firms ought to implement fundamental automobile high quality thresholds and assist driver upgrades via partnerships or lease-to-own fashions.

Till then, brace your self. The following time you order a journey in Lagos or Abuja, don’t be stunned in case your “Corolla” seems to be a rebadged jalopy with a drive that’s simply hustling to outlive.