Bolt smashes Uber in Gauteng ride-hailing price comparison

Bolt is generally a few rands cheaper to use than Uber in Gauteng, a MyBroadband analysis has revealed.

We compared the price of hailing a ride from both platforms for three routes in Gauteng across various times of the day.

For the comparison, we selected routes from Fourways, Johannesburg, to Sandton City, Lanseria International Airport, and SunBet Arena in Pretoria.

We gathered pricing between Monday, 12 February, and Wednesday, 14 February 2024, at the following times:

• Morning — between 06:30 and 08:00
• Midday — between 11:00 and 13:00
• Evening —  between 17:00 and 19:00

We selected pricing for the cheapest and most comparable ride options. For Uber, this was its Uber Go offering, which we compared to pricing for Bolt’s Go Hatch service.

It should be noted that Bolt offers a cheaper option — Bolt Lite — in northern Johannesburg.

However, we didn’t include pricing for Bolt Lite as it is only available in certain areas and isn’t comparable to Uber’s offerings.

After gathering prices, we calculated an average for each route at each time of the day to determine which was cheaper.

It should be noted that this is a limited comparison, and with pricing determined primarily by demand, experiences may differ based on your location.

We also excluded promotional prices, as these might not be available to all users in South Africa.

Uber had the most deals during our comparison. It generally offered discounts of 10% across the three routes.

Our analysis found that Bolt was cheaper for all routes at any time of day, except one trip taken from Fourways to Sandton City at midday.

Bolt’s average morning pricing worked out to R108 for the Fourways to Sandton City route, compared to R118 for the same route through Uber.

At midday, Bolt’s price stayed constant at R108, while Uber’s average price for the trip dropped to R104.

However, this was the only time Uber’s pricing was cheaper than Bolt’s. Uber charged an average of R122 for the trip in the evening, while Bolt’s price remained at R108.

Regarding the trip from Fourways to Lanseria International Airport, Bolt’s pricing was cheaper regardless of the time of day.

Taking the trip in the morning costs an average of R113.34 through Bolt, compared to R141 when ordering the ride on Uber’s platform.

Both prices increased slightly at midday, with Bolt and Uber charging R115 and R143, respectively.

The trip was considerably cheaper in the evenings, with Bolt offering the lowest price at R108. On the other hand, Uber charged R115 for the trip.

The Fourways to SunBet Arena route is the longest we compared. In the morning, Bolt quoted an average of R267 for the trip, while Uber charged customers R306.67.

Pricing at midday told a similar story. Bolt offered the lowest average pricing at R269.34, while Uber’s average price was R308.67.

The gap closed significantly in the evenings, with Bolt’s average returning to R267 and Uber’s price dropping considerably to R286.

The table below summarises our price comparison between Uber and Bolt across three routes at varying times of the day.