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STORY: In the eight years she's worked as a taxi driver in Kenya's capital, Judith Chepkwony says she's never seen business this bad.

A bruising price war between ride-hailing companies Uber, Bolt and local start-ups Little and Faras has driven fares down to a level that many drivers say is unsustainable.

And that's forced some to set their own, higher prices.

Chepkwony argues they have no other way.

If you stick to the apps' rates, she says, you can spend 12 hours working and still not make enough to cover fuel and the loan repayments on your car.

"The app will take their commission in full, the passenger will be happy to pay the amount they can afford, the driver is left in the middle, squeezed between them. Pressed by loans, pressed by the passengers and pressed by the app."

Chepkwony says around half her passengers eventually agree to pay more than the price flashing up on their app.

:: August 31, 2023

:: Nairobi, Kenya

Uber, however, says such arrangements break its guidelines.

It's told its drivers to get back in line and urged customers to report instances when they are overcharged.

That's setting up a clash between the slick, automated world of the international ride-hailing industry - and the messier realities of life.

Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania - with their growing economies and relatively low car ownership - are among the most important markets for Uber in Africa, its executives have said.

However, Kenya has recently been rocked by protests against proposed tax hikes amid high prices for basic commodities, elevated interest rates and, subsequently, lower disposable incomes.

In response to demands from the drivers, local-start-up Faras Cabs has raised its fares by a fifth.

Estonia's Bolt, meanwhile, has said it discourages fare-hiking while the industry searches for a solution to balance the needs of drivers and customers.

While they wait, drivers continue to find ways to get around the apps' algorithmically-produced fares.

They use a walkie-talkie app to collectively agree on higher prices.

That means customers will get the same rate even if they shop around.

Drivers have also produced a laminated fare guide which they post up inside their cars for customers to see.

Nairobi-based driver Erick Nyamweya said you can work it out quickly by multiplying the app's fare by 1.5.

"But if he doesn't agree, or she doesn't agree, we do what the app is saying because after all at the end of the day you have to work."

If you refuse everything, Nyamweya says, you might as well "ship out of the business" but he says, "before we ship out... we are trying to make the business better."