Ride-hailing apps have become so essential in or day to day lives now. Talking about easy transportation, convenience, affordability and safety.
With the rapid growth in technology, more people are beginning to embrace the idea of booking a ride to their destinations. Among the popular options out there, Bolt and InDrive stand out as strong competitors in Nigeria.
While both apps help users book rides, they have distinct differences in pricing, service structure, and user experience.
In this article, I will be sharing my experiences while using both apps and will state which seems better. To start with, let’s take a look at both companies.
Bolt
Bolt, formerly known as Taxify, is one of the leading ride-hailing platforms in Europe, Africa, and some parts of Asia. It offers a straightforward service where customers request a ride, and drivers accept based on the app’s pricing system. Bolt provides various ride options, including standard rides, comfort rides, and even Bolt Food delivery in some locations and countries.
InDrive
InDrive formerly inDriver operates differently from traditional ride-hailing apps. Instead of fixed fares set by the platform, InDrive allows users to negotiate fares with drivers. The passenger enters a proposed fare, and nearby drivers either accept, counter-offer, or reject the request. This system gives users more control over pricing but requires active negotiation.
Bolt is nice, InDrive is nice but they both have their downside which makes the other better. Here is my experience with both.
User Interface
Let me start with Bolt. Bolt has a very nice user interface and makes it very easy to navigate through the app and as for InDrive, well it’s not bad but I will give Bolt the win on this one.
Pricing
Let me start with the Nigerian slang or “Omo.” Omo, Bolt is more expensive o. Most times their prices just beats your budget by a huge gap. Whereas, InDrive is not as expensive and it has the feature to allow you to negotiate your price.
I love this feature from InDrive. It allows you to be in control and choose a price which is fair for both the driver and yourself.
The only problem (in my experience) comes down to the ride. Most of InDrive’s drivers are far away from where you are and they keep approving the ride. Where you’ll have to wait for so long before they get to you. And when you live in a big city like Lagos, it can be so annoying.
I have tried getting a ride with InDrive several times, and when you negotiate your price and the driver approves, you realize that the driver is really far from where you are.
Wait Time
Due to the fact that there are not much InDrive drivers at the moment, the wait time is really long.
Bolt, on the other hand has saturated the market and have lots of Drivers so your wait time is less
Ride Quality and Comfort
Bolt: Offers different ride categories like Bolt Base, Comfort, and XL, so you can choose based on your budget and comfort needs.
InDrive: No fixed ride categories—quality depends on the car the driver offers. This means you might get anything from a neat, air-conditioned car to an old, uncomfortable vehicle.
My Verdict
Both Bolt and InDrive are really good however, when it comes to price, Bolt is more expensive than InDrive, and you have the feature of negotiating your price with InDrive.
With InDrive, you will wait longer before your driver gets to you.
It all boils down to your prefrerence.
