Uber paid drivers more than the fares collected from passengers on short trips in Nigeria, with the gap reaching 23 per cent for journeys of between 5km and 9km, according to a new report by ride hailing data aggregator Obi.
The analysis found that the company’s payments to drivers exceeded passenger fares across every distance category below roughly 20km. The findings were based on 20,298 Uber and InDrive trips involving 308 drivers between January and July 2026.
Brandspur Business News Desk reports that drivers received 11 per cent more than passengers paid on trips of 1km to 5km. The difference increased to 23 per cent for journeys between 5km and 9km, before narrowing to 19 per cent for 9km to 13km trips, 15 per cent for 13km to 17km and 11 per cent for journeys between 17km and 21km.
Obi said the pattern meant Uber was effectively subsidising shorter journeys to keep drivers accepting trips that might otherwise have been rejected. According to the report, the company’s driver payments only caught up with passenger fares once journeys exceeded about 20km.
The report also highlighted the relatively low number of rides completed by individual Nigerian drivers. Between January and July, an average Nigerian Uber driver completed 130 trips, compared with 1,142 trips by an Uber driver in South Africa.
Nigerian drivers averaged 3.9 rides per active day, against 9.9 in South Africa, according to Obi. The aggregator said the combination of low trip volumes and the subsidy on individual rides left little scale through which losses could be absorbed.
Another finding showed that Nigerian drivers retained about 80 to 90 per cent of passenger fares during the period. In South Africa, drivers kept 71 per cent in January, with the share increasing to 84 per cent by July.
Obi also reported that Uber’s fare per kilometre in Nigeria increased by 71 per cent, from N574 to N983. Despite the increase, the report said the higher fares did not eliminate the gap between what passengers paid and what drivers received on shorter journeys.
The findings provide context to the financial pressures surrounding Uber’s decision to leave the Nigerian market, particularly for drivers who depended on the platform for a substantial portion of their earnings.
A survey of 93 Nigerian Uber drivers conducted the day after the exit announcement found that 49 per cent expected to lose at least half of their monthly income. Eleven per cent anticipated losing more than 75 per cent, while three per cent expected no income loss because they had already replaced Uber earnings completely.
Uber was the sole source of income for 42 per cent of those surveyed, while another 52 per cent described it as their main income source alongside other work.
The survey also showed that most drivers were already using other ride hailing platforms before Uber’s departure. Eighty per cent had at least one additional platform, including 45 per cent who also drove for Bolt, 19 per cent for InDrive and 16 per cent who used multiple other services. Twenty per cent relied on Uber alone.
Despite the expected financial impact of the exit, 90 per cent of the surveyed drivers said they would return to Uber without hesitation if it resumed operations in Nigeria. Another eight per cent said they would consider returning if operating conditions changed, while one per cent said they would not return.
