Former Uber drivers who have moved to other ride-hailing platforms are facing shrinking earnings as lower commissions fail to offset declining fares and rising operational costs, limiting the amount they retain from daily trips.
The earnings pressure comes as Uber’s exit from Nigeria on September 2, 2026, after 12 years in the market, pushed many of its drivers to rival platforms such as Bolt, inDrive and others.
Prince Seun, an app-based driver, told BusinessDay he previously earned N70,000 daily on Uber, which deducted 38 percent in commission when they completed fewer than 20 trips.
On Bolt, Seun now earns about N50,000 daily and pays a 25 percent commission. Based on the driver’s figures, the amount left after platform commission, fell from N43,400 on Uber to N37,500 on Bolt, a difference of N5,900 daily, despite paying a lower rate, highlighting how changes in fares and gross earnings can outweigh the benefits of reduced platform charges.
‘The earnings pressure extends beyond individual drivers,’ Jaiyesimi Azeez, Lagos State chairman of the Amalgamated Union of App-based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATON), said.
In a breakdown of daily expenses, Azeez estimated that a driver generating N60,000 in gross fares could spend N16,200 on commission, N25,000 on fuel, N6,000 on feeding, N2,000 on miscellaneous expenses and N10,000 on vehicle remittance.
His calculation brings total daily expenses to N59,200, leaving N800 from the gross earnings, based on an assumed commission rate of 27 percent.
Azeez said the estimates cover expenses such as repairs, tyres, routine servicing and levies, while vehicle remittances reflect payments made by drivers who work with cars owned by others. He claimed that about 90 percent of e-hailing drivers do not own their vehicles.
For former Uber drivers, the shift to other ride-hailing platforms has not necessarily delivered the financial relief they were expecting.
This experience underscores the financial challenges currently facing some drivers as they move between ride-hailing platforms, where commissions rate, trip volumes, and fares determine how much operators retain before accounting for fuel, maintenance, and order expenses.
Another driver, who spoke with BusinessDay on condition of anonymity, attributed the company’s departure to what they described as a combination of high commissions, reduced fares, relaxed vehicle standards and poor engagement with drivers.
The driver said Uber initially attracted operators with relatively high fares and strict vehicle requirements, allowing some drivers to earn reasonable returns from just three or four trips a day.
‘However, the company subsequently reduced fares while maintaining commissions of about 35 percent, making it increasingly difficult for operators to cover fuel and other operating expenses.
‘When the fare is so poor and you still want to take 35 percent of something that’s already poor, how do you expect drivers to survive?’ she said.
The driver added that some operators began taking rides offline to avoid platform commissions, while others stopped using the app, describing the practice as one of the factors that contributed to Uber’s departure
For former Uber drivers, the shift to rival platforms has therefore made the headline commission rate only one part of the earnings equation.
As fares fluctuate and fuel, vehicle maintenance and other operating costs remain high, drivers say their ability to earn sustainably will depend on how much they retain after all deductions and expenses, rather than on lower platform commissions alone.