On Saturday evening, 14 February, drivers working for platforms including Uber and Bolt logged off their apps from 5pm and assembled their vehicles for a slow-moving motorcade through central London.

The protest was organised by members of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) to demand that Transport for London introduce stronger regulation of ride-hailing companies.

Around 24 cars, displaying union flags, drove in convoy from Ridley Road to Westminster, slowing traffic to draw attention to the conditions faced by private hire drivers.

Demonstrators used megaphones to address pedestrians and other road users, highlighting what they described as exploitative pay, lack of job security and inadequate protections against passenger violence.

The motorcade followed the union’s call for a consumer boycott on the same day, urging passengers not to use ride-hailing apps for 24 hours on 14 February in solidarity with drivers’ demands for regulation.

Drivers must cover significant work-related costs from their earnings, including vehicle rental, insurance, fuel, licensing fees and congestion charges. The union says it is common for drivers to work around 30 hours a week simply to break even.

An Oxford University study published last year found that Uber drivers’ pay has declined since the introduction of dynamic pricing models.

In addition to pay, drivers are calling for protection against unfair dismissal and stronger safety measures to reduce the risk and impact of passenger violence. In 2021, Gabriel Bringye, a Bolt driver and IWGB member, was killed at the wheel by passengers while on a job.

Other cities and countries, including New York, France, Mexico and Barcelona, have introduced minimum pay rates or increased oversight of ride-hailing platforms to protect drivers from exploitation. However, TfL and the UK government have yet to introduce comparable protections for London’s more than 100,00 private hire drivers.

Nader Awaad, Chair of the IWGB Private Hire Drivers Branch and a driver for 7 years, said:  “The UK’s private hire industry is a wild west. With no protection from unfair dismissal, drivers see their entire livelihoods go up in smoke, in the blink of an eye, for no reason. With no real safety measures we are left completely unprotected from passenger violence, frequently resulting in serious injuries, or, in the tragic case of our member Gabriel Bringye - death. 

That’s before we even start talking about pay. My colleague drove a passenger from Heathrow Airport to central London the other day. The passenger was being charged £111. Uber paid the driver £29. That’s nearly 75% of the money, not for providing the car, not for covering the fuel, not for insurance, not for vehicle maintenance - just to be on the app. Uber's cut does not justify what they provide.

Because of these commissions I have to work long hours to earn a living. After covering their car rental, insurance, fuel, maintenance, traffic fines, etc., I believe many drivers are taking home less than the minimum wage. The government says it's improving employment rights. Why are they ignoring gig economy workers like me? We are facing some of the worst working conditions in the UK. Yet we have been completely abandoned. It's time for drivers and riders to come together and use our collective power to demand change.”

Alex Marshall, President of the IWGB Union, said: “Uber uses smoke and mirror pay algorithms and satisfaction surveys to make claims that drivers are well paid and happy. Next time you get in an Uber I invite you to speak with your driver and find out for yourself. Ask them how many hours a week they have to work. Or when the last time they took a holiday was. Or how often they get to spend time with their children. 

People that came before us fought hard to win us weekends, holidays, the minimum wage, capped working hours, and sick pay - basic rights that everyone would agree changed life in our society for the better. But gig economy companies like Uber have found legislation loopholes to strip their workforce of those rights and bring back Dickensian levels of exploitation. Drivers on these apps are now forced to work 70 or even 80 hour weeks in some cases.

If drivers and riders unite in action, starting with a Valentine’s Day boycott of all ride-hailing apps, we can force TfL and the UK government to follow authorities in New York, France, Mexico and Barcelona, in regulating these platforms, so that drivers can get back the quality of life we all deserve.”

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