Bolt offers N10,000 weekly fuel subsidy bonus to drivers who complete 50 rides

Leading ride-hailing company, Bolt is offering a fuel subsidy bonus to drivers operating on its platform. In a statement made available to Technext, the ride-hailing company said this was part of its continued support to help drivers earn more on its platform. Tagged the fuel subsidy bonus campaign, the intervention would target drivers in Lagos and Abuja.

Ride-hailing drivers have witnessed a sharp decline in their earnings since May 29 when the Bola Tinubu-led federal government announced a removal of fuel subsidy. The campaign which the company described as the first of its kind in the ride-hailing sector, will offer N10,000 per week to drivers to help them cushion the effect of the increasing fuel prices.

Speaking on the campaign, Country Manager for Bolt Nigeria, Yahaya Mohammed, said the development is part of the company’s long-standing commitment to support its driver-partners and ensure that they continue to thrive. He reiterated that drivers are at the core of the company’s business, and they want to see them succeed and grow their earnings.

“The increasing fuel prices in the country is one of the motivations behind the campaign to support our driver-partners. We understand the current economic situation and as always, we are committed to helping our driver-partners earn more. At Bolt, we continue to make drivers central to our business and do not take their commitment for granted in a competitive marketplace. We are excited to see that thousands of drivers are already benefiting from this amazing opportunity and we hope many more will complete 50 weekly trips and earn extra”.

More on Bolt’s fuel subsidy campaign

Bolt’s fuel subsidy campaign is designed to help drivers cushion the effects of the fuel price hike occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal. The campaign is targeted at over 6,000 drivers operating in Lagos and Abuja. The campaign is set to run all through the month of December, during which drivers receive a fuel subsidy bonus worth up to NGN 10,000 every week.

This means by the end of December, drivers stand the chance of earning up to N40,000 each in fuel subsidy bonuses. There is however a catch; to qualify for the bonus, a driver must have completed at least 50 trips in the week. This amounts to roughly 7.1 trips per day.

The fuel subsidy campaign is the latest in a series of strategies employed by the e-hailing giant to improve driver earnings on the platform. In September, the company offered a 10 per cent commission to drivers who agreed to step down into the economy class of its offerings.

In a message to the drivers, the ride-hailing company said the move was necessary in the face of harsh economic realities that have seen a decline in the number of orders received by the platform. They attributed this to the fuel subsidy removal, the hike in fuel price that followed, and the attendant increase in fares in the wake of that.

Confirming the development to Technext at the time, Bolt said the initiative was targeted only at select drivers which it describes as “top performing drivers”. It said the initiative was undertaken to achieve three objectives: enhancing rider options; boosting drivers’ order volume; and fostering increased earnings for drivers.

See also: Bolt Nigeria is offering 10% commission to drivers, but they must accept rides from economy-class

Later in the same month, the company launched the “Drive for a Prize Challenge” in Nigeria to support the loyal drivers on its platform. The campaign is a driver support initiative aimed at celebrating the e-hailing company’s top-performing drivers by rewarding winners with various prizes. These prizes range from home appliances like brand-new TVs to mobile phones amongst others.

Since its inception in 2020, the Drive for a Prize campaign has distributed prizes worth up to N50 million to its drivers.

While the fuel subsidy bonus is a commendable initiative, questions might be raised about why it is limited to drivers in Lagos and Abuja. Understandably these are the largest e-hailing markets in Nigeria, yet, drivers in smaller cities appear to generally earn less and are probably in as much need of a subsidy as their peers in Lagos and Abuja.