Your cousin Thabo quit his retail job last month, bought R18 worth of air-fresheners and a phone holder from Takealot, and now swears he’s “basically an entrepreneur”. Two weeks later he’s sending voice notes at 2am about Sandton traffic and how passengers rate you 4 stars for “not playing amapiano loud enough”. Sound familiar? We’re ending the debate once and for all – because every WhatsApp group in Mzansi has that one oke who “knows a guy who cleared R50k last month driving Bolt”.
We chatted to 50 real drivers (anonymously, obviously – these apps deactivate you for sneezing wrong) across Joburg, Cape Town and Durban in the first two weeks of November 2025. Full-timers, weekend warriors, car owners, renters, the lot. Fuel just dropped 51c a litre (thank you, rand glow-up), but commissions are still savage and the apps are saturated like a Gauteng taxi rank at 5pm. Here’s the unfiltered truth.
First, the gross numbers look juicy – until they don’t. In Joburg, the average full-timer (50-60 hours a week) is pulling R24,000–R32,000 gross before the apps take their cut. Cape Town is sitting pretty at R22,000–R30,000 thanks to tourists who tip like they’re still on the Euro. Durban? R18,000–R25,000, because eThekwini traffic is punishment from the ancestors and airport runs are fighting for space with inDrive. Bolt still edges Uber on gross because of slightly higher demand, but the gap is closing faster than a taxi lane-change.
Now deduct the blood money: Uber and Bolt both hover around 25% commission (yes, even after all the strikes – they “adjusted” but drivers say it still feels like 30% on bad weeks). Add VAT, booking fees, and those sneaky “service fees” and you’re losing R6,000–R9,000 a month before you even fill up. Fuel? With the November drop, inland 95 is about R20.50/l and a Corolla/Polo drinks R4,500–R6,000 a month if you’re hustling. Then tyres every four months (R3,000–R5,000 gone), insurance, tracking, data (R500 easy), and if you’re renting the car – kiss R10,000–R12,000 goodbye straight to the owner. Real talk: the average take-home after everything? R12,000–R18,000 in Joburg, R14,000–R20,000 in Cape Town (tourist tips save lives), and R10,000–R15,000 in Durban.
The weekend warriors are laughing though. Friday and Saturday nights only, cherry-picking surges in Sandton, Rosebank, V&A or Florida Road – some okes are clearing R1,800–R3,000 in one evening after expenses. One Cape Town driver sent us a screenshot: R4,200 in four hours on a rugby weekend. That’s why your accountant friend still drives Thursday to Sunday “just for petrol money” while flexing a new iPhone.
And then there’s the new player crashing the party: inDrive just dropped their commission to 1% until end of December (yes, ONE percent). Drivers are jumping ship like it’s the Titanic. One Joburg oke switched last week and says his take-home jumped R4,000 already because passengers bid properly when they know the driver keeps almost everything. Uber and Bolt are sweating – expect bonuses and “limited-time incentives” flooding your app soon.
Hidden expenses nobody warns you about? That R3,000 set of tyres every 50,000km because you’re braking in traffic all day. The R1,500 tracker subscription so you don’t wake up to an empty driveway. The R800 medical aid top-up because platform “insurance” laughs at hospital bills. And don’t get us started on cancellations – passenger cancels after you’ve driven 10km? Tough luck, here’s R15.
So is it still worth it in November 2025? If you own your car, live in Cape Town, hustle smart (multi-app, chase surges, avoid peak traffic dead zones), and treat it like a business – yes, you can clear R20k+ take-home and still have December braai money. If you’re renting, doing random hours, or stuck in Durban outer suburbs – you’re basically working for the petrol companies and the app billionaires.
Bottom line: It’s not the 2018 gold rush anymore, my bru. But with fuel finally dropping and inDrive shaking the table, right now is actually one of the better times in years to test it. Just don’t quit your day job yet – start part-time this festive, see if the voice notes from passengers are worth the hustle.
Thabo? He’s back at retail. Said the passengers complain more than customers and at least retail has medical aid. Classic.