Inside South Africa’s booming e-hailing economy

It is hard to miss the transformation on South African roads over the past decade. Cars pull over to collect passengers at all hours, clutter the roads at awkward times, and make U-turns in peak hour traffic.

That’s the irritating part of the e-hailing economy, now reckoned to account for up to 70 000 vehicles and turnover in excess of R500 million a month for car owners operating on platforms such as Uber, Bolt and inDrive.

Read: Ride-hailing contributes to income stability for SA gig workers

That revenue figure does not count fees earned by drivers, parts suppliers, repair crews and insurers. Nor does it count the tens of thousands of motorbikes delivering food and other purchases to homes and offices across the country.

We’ve learned to tolerate these flagrant abuses of the road because millions of us use these services.

It’s a huge business, and it’s growing, with many drivers moonlighting after hours to supplement their primary incomes.

Driver glut, rider growth

But there is some evidence that the market – in some parts of the country – is oversupplied.

Uber was reported to have about 55 000 South African drivers in 2023. More recently, it told ITWeb that it had roughly 100 000 independent contractors, although that figure included delivery couriers. Bolt says it has about 40 000 drivers.

Many drivers are registered on both platforms; some are inactive, and more than one driver may use the same vehicle.

Even so, the available evidence points to an industry supporting tens of thousands of households while generating business for vehicle owners, drivers and the downstream supply chain.

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Demand from passengers is certainly growing. Discovery Bank and Visa’s 2026 SpendTrend report, drawing on 2.6 billion card transactions between 2021 and 2025, found that 58% of surveyed consumers were using e-hailing more frequently than a year earlier. This increased to 67% among Johannesburg respondents.

The survey focused on South Africans earning at least R100 000 a year, so its findings cannot be applied to the entire population. Nevertheless, it seems relatively affluent households are increasingly combining private vehicle ownership with on-demand transport.

Convenience and time savings were cited by 54% of respondents as factors for increasing their e-hailing use. This was followed by going out and consuming alcohol at 48%, fuel and driving costs at 35%, safety at 29%, and discounts at 25%.

Profitable for some

Whether driving for these platforms produces a decent living is another matter.

Research undertaken at Wits University by Bingo Balekwa concluded that profits dwindled once platform charges, fuel, insurance, maintenance and other operating expenses were deducted.

The study reported that platforms charged 23% to 25% per ride and found that some participating drivers earned profits of little more than R900 a month.

It concluded that financed vehicles would struggle to remain profitable under the assumptions used.

Read: SA e-hailing drivers put in long hours to make a living

Although some commercial categories were excluded from the study, it nevertheless highlights the gap between gross fares and the income retained by drivers.

Research from the University of Johannesburg presents a more positive picture, albeit from a sample of only 53 Johannesburg drivers.

Some 90.6% said their e-hailing income exceeded what they had earned in their previous jobs, while 62.3% said it was sufficient to cover their expenses.

Almost 40% had left previous employment to make e-hailing their principal source of income.

The Western Cape E-hailing Association is less optimistic, arguing that apparently attractive gross earnings are quickly consumed by fuel, vehicle rental, insurance, data and maintenance.

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It is clear that e-hailing is seen as a relatively accessible earning opportunity with low barriers to entry, though much of the commercial risk rests with the driver.

The rise of the car landlord

Many e-hailing drivers do not own the vehicles they operate.

Instead, they rent them from fleet owners, often for R1 750 to R2 500 a week, depending on the vehicle and the services included.

This has created a new class of ‘car landlords’: investors who own the productive asset while drivers supply the labour, fuel and time.

If 50 000 vehicles were rented at R2 500 a week, as some estimate, weekly payments to vehicle owners would amount to R125 million – or about R542 million a month.

Drivers who own their own vehicles will earn higher fees than those who don’t.

Uber and Bolt both direct drivers without vehicles towards rental and fleet partners. Some arrangements include insurance, maintenance and tracking, while others impose deposits, mileage charges and long minimum rental periods.

The advertised weekly price, therefore, does not always represent the driver’s complete vehicle cost.

The economic relationship resembles a landlord-and-tenant arrangement, but with one important difference: a rented house does not travel tens of thousands of kilometres a year or risk returning after an accident.

Airbnb for cars

A related but distinct market is now developing around vehicles that are rented directly to members of the public.

South African peer-to-peer rental platform Society, founded by entrepreneurs Cherrylee Samson and Anje Kruger, allows vehicle owners to list their cars for rentals lasting several days or weeks. Society vets participating owners, vehicles and renters, and facilitates bookings through its platform – a type of Airbnb for transport.

Samson says Society is onboarding more than 12 vehicles a day and that listed vehicles achieve a 70% booking rate. The average rental lasts seven days, with about half of these extended for another week.

Prices depend heavily on the vehicle and the conditions imposed by the owner. Society lists single-cab bakkies at about R690 per day and double-cabs at around R950 per day, generally subject to mileage limits and security deposits.

“A lot depends on mileage allowances, pricing and deposit barriers set by the owners,” says Samson.

“If a vehicle’s deposit is too high or the mileage-to-price ratio is too low, owners may not see even a single booking.”

The model has already achieved considerable scale overseas. US-based Turo had more than 340 000 active vehicle listings by 2025 and was reported to have crossed $1 billion (about R16.17 billion) in annual revenue.

These headline numbers do not make every listed car a profitable investment. Owners must still account for depreciation, maintenance, insurance, damage, theft and periods when the vehicle is unavailable.

E-hailing’s impact on car sales

E-hailing demand also appears to be showing up in car sales figures, particularly for more affordable and fuel-efficient models.

The Toyota Corolla Quest, widely used for e-hailing and conventional rental, was SA’s best-selling sedan from 2020 to 2023. Toyota discontinued it in 2025.

Another fleet favourite, the Nissan Almera, was sold locally from 2013 until imports ended in 2023. Despite stock running down, Nissan sold 1 575 Almeras during the first eight months of 2023. It remained the company’s second-best-selling passenger model during that period.

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Neither vehicle is sold new today, but both remain available through e-hailing rental businesses.

Newer cars such as the Suzuki Swift, Toyota Starlet, Hyundai Grand i10 and Volkswagen Polo Vivo also appear frequently on e-hailing platforms and among South Africa’s best-selling vehicles. But they are popular with private motorists and conventional rental fleets for the same reasons: affordability, fuel economy and low running costs.

The evidence does not prove that e-hailing is driving national vehicle sales, but its impact is undeniable among more affordable and fuel-efficient models.

The unresolved question is not whether e-hailing creates economic activity – it clearly does. It is who captures the income and who ultimately carries the risk.