Presently Uber and Bolt are now the two most well-known ride-hailing apps in Nigeria.
They’re mostly used in states like Lagos, Abuja and Rivers. Although there are other ride-hailing apps.
Uber and Bolt allow a lot of Nigerian citizens to be a driver while earning money via their platform.
They’ve also made it easier and quicker for customers to get a ride within minutes.
This article is designed to help you compare Uber and Bolt. You may find it confusing to choose between them both, mostly as a new customer in Nigeria.
There are about 20,000 registered Bolt drivers in the country while Uber has about 10,000 registered drivers.
What is bolt
Bolt is an Estonian mobility company that offers vehicles for hire, micro-mobility, car-sharing, and food delivery services headquartered in Tallinn and operating in over 300 cities in 45 countries in Europe, Africa, Western Asia and Latin America.
The company has 75 million customers globally and more than 1.5 million drivers use the Bolt platform to offer rides.
However, Bolt which was previously known as Taxify entered Nigeria in November of 2016. It came into Nigeria two years after Uber but swiftly mapped out a strategy by concentrating on affordability and access, both necessary to capturing the Nigerian market.
Consequently, the number of Nigerian drivers who have downloaded the Bolt app cannot be figured out from the available Playstore data, but there is an estimated figure of about 20,000 registered Bolt drivers in the country.
How to become a Bolt driver
For Beginners, every Bolt driver in Nigeria must meet a minimum age requirement and possess some valid documents.
Driver requirements:
- Hold a valid driver’s license
- Attend driver training for service quality and use of the Bolt driver application
- A smartphone with GPS
- A clean criminal record
Vehicle requirements:
- A vehicle: manufactured in 2003 onwards, 4 doors, fully functional AC
- Vehicle license
- Insurance certificate
- Proof of ownership
- Certificate of roadworthiness.
If these are covered, then all it takes to join is signing up via the app or web platform. After registering your details (which you can do in less than 5 minutes), you will receive an email with all the necessary information about upcoming training and information about getting your documents inspected.
Once registration is completed, your vehicle has to be inspected and certified by any of Bolt’s registered inspection centres.
The next stage is completing the compulsory training. You can run the training from the comfort of your home, you’ll need to take the training remotely and pass 2 tests.
The training usually takes between 3-4 hours to get your account ready, so you can hit the streets in no time!
Download the Bolt Driver app and pick up your first passenger:
First, you will need to download the Bolt Driver app on your smart device (Android, iOS).
To start using the app, log in with your chosen username and password. You will receive your login details directly to your email after your driver application has been approved.
How much capital is needed to start Bolt driving?
The capital needed to start Bolt driving is money to buy a vehicle that meets the required standards of the company, that’s if you want to start with your car.
If you are not financially able to buy your car, you can partner with someone that owns a car already and negotiate how much percentage you are going to be giving him/her in return maybe on a weekly or monthly basis.
Also hired purchase will not be a bad idea for those that are determined to break free from that zone of working for the car owner.
What is Uber?
Uber is a transportation company that owns an app that allows passengers to hail a ride and drivers to charge fares and get paid.
Moreso, Uber is a ridesharing outfit that employs independent contractors as drivers. It’s one of many services today that contribute to the growth of the economy, providing a means of linking existing resources in place of providing the physical resources themselves.
Uber was founded by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp in 2009, and its headquarter is situated in San Francisco. The company has an estimated number of over 110 million users globally.
Uber connects customers who need rides with drivers via the Uber app. Also, uber gives rides under an amazing pricing medium for both drivers and passengers.
Uber currently is seen to control over 69% of the United States’ consumer transport service share, and 25% of food delivery with its app ‘Uber Eats’. Uber is available in over 700 cities and 63 countries including Lagos and Abuja. The company registers a minimum of 50,000 new drivers monthly. There is an estimated number of over 4 million registered Uber drivers globally.
How to become an Uber driver
Driver requirements details
Basic requirements
There are certainly a few basic requirements to meet before you can sign up to drive with Uber:
- Meet the minimum age to drive in your city
- Have at least one year of licensed driving experience (3 years if you are under 23 years old)
- Have a valid driver’s license
Use an eligible 4-door vehicle
- Required documents
- A valid driver’s license
- Proof of vehicle insurance if you plan to drive your car
- Proof of residency in your city, state, or province
- Proof of auto insurance and car registration
- A driver profile photo
- Must be a forward-facing, centred photo including the driver’s full face and top of shoulders, with no sunglasses
- Must be a photo only of the driver with no other subject in the frame, well-lit, and in focus; it cannot be a driver’s license photo or other printed photograph
- Taxpayer identification number
Vehicle requirements
- The model year of 2000 or newer
- 4-door car
- Good condition with no cosmetic damage
- A working radio
- Your paperwork
- Vehicle inspection report
- Vehicle insurance
- Roadworthiness certificate
- A valid Hackney permit
Sign up online
With an email address and a smartphone, you sure are ready to get started.
Driver screening
After signing up, you can complete a screening online. To review your driving record and criminal history.
Activate your account
If you’ve completed all the above-mentioned steps, then you are good to go.
You are now ready to activate your account and begin your money-making journey.
Frequently asked questions About Bolt vs Uber
Which ride service is better for people Uber or Bolt
It usually comes down to personal choice. The decision of which ride-hailing service is better for people is dependent on which platform is more popular in their locale.
If a customer is looking for a cheaper ride, Bolt would be an awesome option. If you are going for more features, Uber may be an option. For drivers in Nigeria, it appears that Bolt will pay them more than Uber.
The bottom line is, both Uber and Bolt are by far the best two ride-hailing apps in Nigeria presently.
Is Bolt cheaper than Uber in Nigeria?
Uber charges a cancellation fee when you cancel an order while Bolt will only charge in some cases. The cancellation fee is a plus to the driver and a loss to the customer.
Based on several reviews, it has been established that Uber charges higher than Bolt. Bolt is more particular about getting transport fares to become more affordable for its users.
Thus, making its prices more affordable than Uber.
As such it appears Bolt’s transport rates are mainly lower than Uber’s rates. And this is an advantage for not just the customers but the rivers too.
Bolt vs Uber which one pays more to drivers?
Bolt pays more.
Bolt takes only 15% to 20% of the amount paid for every successful trip. This implies that drivers have between 80% to 85% of the amount paid for every successful trip made.
Uber takes between 20% and 30% of the amount paid for every successful trip. This means that the drivers would have 70% to 80% of the amount paid for every successful trip made.
This implies that Bolt drivers would get more pay or cut than Uber drivers.
Other taxi-hailing services in Nigeria?
There are so many taxi service centres in Nigeria presently. The list below shows some of the best taxi services you can get in Nigeria.
Oga Taxi
Oga Taxi is One of the oldest taxi services in Nigeria. They match passengers who request rides from their Smartphone app.
PalmDrive
Palmdrive has been in existence since May 1, 2016, and since then it has been one of Nigeria’s leading taxi booking services.
Rideme
Get sleek rides to church, work, dates, business meetings, and parties, and enjoy lower costs on your rides.
Takra
A subsidiary of Tekra Global Concepts which aims at providing the standard of excellence in car rental services by providing clients with comfortable and safe transport services on individual and corporate request.
Parkwest Cab
Parkwest cab service is located in Abuja and provides services like taxi services, taxi pick-up and drop-off services, and airport cab services.