Riding On Uber Chap Chap Is Death In Waiting

There is no escaping the fact that the Suzuki Alto which is the car used for the ride-hailing service Uber ChapChap comes up short for safety. Pictures of the folded up car that often emerge on social media after accidents look horrifying to say the least. The tiny car is the budget option for Uber users because of its low fuel consumption.

According to Euro NCAP the Suzuki Alto has not achieved the standard safety requirements. This has been proven true over the year with passengers and drivers involved in accidents in the car ending up never making it. the Suzuki Alto 800 achieved a zero-star rating for its adult occupant protection. The vehicle structure was rated as unstable, increasing the risk of life-threatening injuries and making the car unsuitable for the fitment of airbags.

The ‘Dudus’ were not able to meet the UN’s minimum safety requirements in the 56km/h crash test.

The Suzuki Alto should be removed from our roads, the dudus are literally death sentences, the possibilities of survival in case of an accident are minimal to none. (ajali haina kinga). Late 2018 Kenyan taxi drivers took to the streets to demonstrate against Uber’s move to introduce the Suzuki Alto on the roads “to manipulate the pricing”. This  led to even lower prices meaning more trips for those drivers in order to make good money which has led to fatigue-related deaths

“They are unsafe. They should not be on our roads. And the drivers using them work literally 24/7 yet they go home with nothing. They make nothing,”Derrick Mbugua of the Liberation Movement had said.

Uber and Suzuki Motor partnered together to make Uber chapchap which would make ride-hailing services in Africa faster and cheaper. The services were introduced in Nairobi on January 17, 2018