Ride-hailing cab Bolt has revealed that its top-earning driver takes home Sh400,000 per month.
Speaking during the release of the Gig Economy Report in Nairobi, Bolt’s General Manager for East Africa Dimmy Kanyankole said the average earning for Bolt drivers is Sh63,000, with bikes making an average of Sh56,000 per month.
“Top 20 percent of drivers earn Sh184,000, with our single top-earning driver earning Sh400,000 per month. The average earnings for Bolt drivers is Sh63,000. For bikes, they are making an average of Sh56,000 per month,” he said.
The company said the earnings include gross trip income, bonuses and incentives.
Bolt, a multinational travel company is one of the popular digital taxis in Kenya, offering various shared mobility services including ride-hailing, parcel delivery, scooter e-bike, and car rental, as well as food, and grocery delivery via the Bolt Food app.
The cab operates across Kenya’s major cities including Nairobi, Kisumu, and Mombasa charging a commission of about 20 percent on every trip.
With the growing demand for flexible work and digital earning opportunities, more Kenyans are increasingly turning to ride-hailing as a source of income, with over 50 percent of digital-hailing drivers relying on the platform as their main source of income.
The drivers say net earnings are determined by various factors, including fuel costs and maintenance.
Allan Macharia, a Nairobi-based driver, had earlier revealed he earns an average of Sh3,800 per day, which sometimes stretches to up to Sh150,000 per month, when the demand is high.
“My target is around Sh3,800 daily. To get that, I have to make Sh6,500 in total, with one part going to the car and the rest being my take-home,” he says.
“In a month working full days, I make more than Sh100,000. Even when you do Sh3,000 a day, that’s Sh90,000,” the driver adds, noting that he makes up to Sh150,000 during festivities.
Attributing his success to discipline, Macharia also says that observing demand helps him achieve his target.
The driver says that when he notices the day has become slow, he opts to drive to another place, maybe one or two kilometres, to find a new market
Data from Statista projects that Kenya’s ride-hailing market revenue will grow annually at 4.79 percent to hit Sh9.2 billion by 2030.
The number of users is expected to rise to 9.03 million by 2030, with penetration increasing from 13.9 percent in 2025 to 14.3 percent by the end of the decade. The average revenue per user is forecast at Sh912.
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