FAAN Taxi App Triggers Airport Cab Driver Protest

A viral protest by airport cab drivers has shifted attention from disputed vehicle requirements to deeper concerns over Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria’s digital taxi reform, exposing tensions between transport modernisation, stakeholder inclusion and operational realities, writes OLASUNKANMI AKINLOTAN

A viral video of distressed airport cab drivers appealing to President Bola Tinubu over what they believed was a directive requiring them to acquire 2020 model vehicles has sparked broader debate over FAAN’s latest push to modernise airport ground transportation.

While the appeal centred on the cost of acquiring newer vehicles in an economy weighed down by inflation and dwindling purchasing power, findings by The PUNCH showed that the controversy extends beyond vehicle specifications. At the heart of the disagreement is the implementation of the Airport Car Hire Rank Management System, a digital platform introduced by FAAN to regulate airport taxi operations, improve security and streamline passenger movement.

For FAAN, ACHRAMS represents a major step towards modernising airport ground transportation and closing longstanding security and operational gaps. For the drivers, however, the unanswered questions are less about digitisation and more about participation and practicality, among other concerns.

For many of the drivers, however, the issue is not resistance to technology but the feeling that they are being excluded from a reform that will directly affect their daily operations and livelihoods.

In the video, one of the drivers, speaking in Yoruba, appealed to Nigerians to intervene, saying, “This is what we are facing. Nigerians should help us intervene. They said we should go and buy a vehicle from 2020 above. Vehicles that cost between N18 and N30m, with the way…