A new report from Bolt has laid bare just how central ride-hailing has become to South Africa’s economic fabric, revealing that seven in ten gig workers in the sector now rely on platforms like Uber, Bolt, and locally-based services as their primary source of income — a dramatic shift from the supplementary side-hustle model that once defined the industry.
From Side Hustle to Main Squeeze
The data, compiled in Bolt’s 2026 Gig Economy Report and released mid-April, shows that 70% of South African ride-hailing drivers now count platform work as their main income, up from roughly 45% five years ago. The transformation tracks with South Africa’s persistent unemployment crisis, which according to official figures hovers around 32% — one of the highest rates in the world.
For many drivers, the shift was not a choice but a necessity. Thabo Mkwanazi, 38, from Soweto, drove for Uber on weekends while holding a logistics job until the company cut his shifts in 2025. “I went full-time on the app,” he told a South African news outlet. “It’s not great money, but it’s money. In South Africa right now, that’s not nothing.”
Cash Economy Dominates
Perhaps the most striking detail in the report: more than 80% of all ride-hailing transactions in South Africa are still settled in cash. Unlike in Western markets where digital payment is nearly universal, South African riders overwhelmingly prefer to pay drivers directly — a reality shaped by uneven banking penetration, data cost concerns, and deep-rooted habit.
This creates a complex set of challenges. Drivers must carry large amounts of cash on their person, increasing personal safety risks. Platforms face difficulties in tracking consistent earnings for tax purposes. And the Reserve Bank of South Africa has long flagged informal cash flows as a regulatory blind spot.
The Regulatory Grey Zone
Unlike employees, gig workers in South Africa are classified as independent contractors, meaning they have no access to employment protections — no minimum wage guarantees, no sick leave, no UIF contributions. The country has debated reclassifying gig workers for years, but legislative progress has stalled.
A 2025 bipartite report by labour ministry representatives and platform companies proposed a hybrid classification model that would guarantee minimum earnings floors without full employment status, but the proposal has not advanced to legislative drafting stage.
Meanwhile, drivers organising under the South African E-Hailing League have called for a formal grievance mechanism and structured dialogue with platforms on algorithmic pricing — a concern that intensified after Uber’s dynamic surge pricing was shown to inflate fares during high-demand periods without proportionate increases to driver earnings.
The Bigger Picture
The gig economy in South Africa now encompasses far more than ride-hailing. Delivery riders for apps like Mr. D Food, Checkers Sixty60, and Uber Eats number in the tens of thousands. The question regulators face is whether these platforms are a genuine economic lifeline — or whether they are reshaping the labour market in ways that ultimately hollow out worker protections while delivering profit to shareholders elsewhere.
For now, for drivers like Thabo, the calculus is simple: no job means no income. And in an economy with few alternatives, the apps — however imperfect — are keeping roofs over heads.