What drivers pay
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Before October 2022 | Commissions of 25% or more were common |
| October 2022 | After a drivers' strike, Uber cut its service fee from 25% to 18% (Citizen) |
| 2022 | NTSA's ride-hailing regulations capped commission at 18% of trip earnings |
| September 2026 | High Court found the cap unconstitutional on a petition by Bolt, suspended the finding for 12 months, and barred NTSA from enforcing the cap meanwhile (TechTrendsKE, Business Daily) |
The ruling does not raise anyone's commission by itself. It lets the platforms set their own rate while the government redoes the rules with public participation and an impact assessment. Bolt's own driver page says drivers earn up to 75% of the fare per ride “in many markets”, which is a global line rather than a Kenyan rate.
What a trip leaves you
| Fare | At 18% | At 25% |
|---|---|---|
| KES 300 | KES 246 | KES 225 |
| KES 600 | KES 492 | KES 450 |
| KES 1,000 | KES 820 | KES 750 |
Fuel comes out of what is left. At Nairobi's October 2026 petrol price, a car doing 10 km a litre spends about KES 22.70 a kilometre; see fuel prices today.
Cash trips and the Uber balance
When a rider pays cash, you collect the whole fare and Uber's fee is recorded as money you owe. According to Uber's Kenya driver page:
| Your balance | What happens |
|---|---|
| Above KES 0 | Uber pays you in the weekly payout |
| KES 0 to minus 5,000 | Top up when you can |
| Below minus KES 5,000 | You start getting top-up reminders |
| Below minus KES 10,000 | Account blocked until you settle |
To pay, open t.uber.com/paykenya and pay by M-PESA or bank deposit. Type the address yourself; do not pay a balance to a number someone sends you.
Bolt payouts
Bolt pays weekly. The week runs Monday to Sunday and the payout is your net earnings after commission. Bolt advertises earnings of up to KES 17,300 a week, which it says was the median for Kenyan drivers in August 2026, before fuel and car costs.
What riders pay
- Upfront fare: both apps show the price before you book. Neither publishes a fixed per-kilometre rate for Kenya, and prices rise at busy times.
- Booking fee: Uber riders pay one to cover safety, regulatory and operating costs such as insurance.
- Tolls: on the Nairobi Expressway the rider pays; Uber adds the toll to the fare. See Expressway toll rates.
- Paying: Uber takes cash, card and M-PESA added as a payment method in the app. Bolt shows its options at checkout.
Minimum fares: what is coming
In July 2026 the Ministry of Transport published draft amendments to the ride-hailing rules that would require a minimum payment per trip regardless of distance or discounts, but the draft set no figure (Kenyans.co.ke). We found no gazetted minimum fare as of 28 October 2026.
Financing a car for ride-hailing? Compare the options in car financing for Uber and Bolt drivers.
Sources
- Uber Kenya: how much drivers make, read 28 October 2026
- Bolt Kenya: drive with Bolt, read 28 October 2026
- TechTrendsKE, 3 September 2026: court ruling on the 18% cap
- Business Daily, 2 September 2026: court blocks 18% commission cap
- Citizen Digital, 30 October 2022: Uber cuts service fee to 18%
- Kenyans.co.ke, 8 July 2026: draft minimum fare rules