Comparing the most popular rideshare apps in London
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Life as a PCO driver is all about working smarter, not harder—choosing the right times and places to drive to maximise earnings while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
Want to simplify your driving experience? With Splend’s flexible all-inclusive car subscription plans, you can drive a Flexi Try or Flexi Own PCO car that’s fully prepared for the road, complete with PHV insurance, maintenance, and spare parts replacement.
To make the most of your time on the road, signing up for multiple rideshare apps is a game-changer. It minimises downtime, increases your exposure to ride requests, and allows you to adapt your driving strategy to suit your goals. At Splend, we encourage our drivers to diversify their options across several platforms to stay flexible and maximise their potential earnings.
Comparing the most popular rideshare apps
Check out our comparison table below and learn more about the pros and cons of each rideshare apps in London:
| Uber | Bolt | Ola | Free Now | |
| Pricing | Based on distance and duration | Based on distance and duration | Based on distance and duration | Fixed |
| Commission rate | 25% | 10%-20% | 18% | 15% |
| Fares | – £2.10-£2.60 base fare – £1.16-£1.37/mile – £0.15/mile Clean Air fee – £0.11/min. for UberX – £4.30- £5 minimum | – £2.75 base fare – £1.42/mile – £0.13/min. for Standard category – £5.50 minimum | – £2.75 base fare – £2.08/mile – £0.18/min. for Comfort category – £5.50 minimum | – £3.20 base fare – £2.74/mile – £0.48-£0.69/min. for Standard category |
| Driver benefits | – Sickness insurance – Maternity and paternity leave – Gym member pass – EV assistance | N/A | Full-time drivers: – Guaranteed-income plans | N/A |
| Tips | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cancellation fee | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| No-show paid | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bonuses | Based on consecutive trips | Based on consecutive trips | Based on a percentage of trips you accept | Based on number of trips |
| Congestion Charge compensation | £1.50 per trip into the CC zone | £1.50 per trip into the CC zone | £1 per trip into the CC zone | £1 per trip into the CC zone |
| Car categories | – X – XL – Comfort – Green – Exec – Lux – Access/Assist – Pet | – Standard – XL – Electric – Comfort – Executive – Luxury | – Comfort – Comfort XL – Executive | – Standard – Electric |
| Area of coverage | Greater London, Hertfordshire, Thurrock, Brentwood, Luton, Surrey | London (the M25 area), The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Milton Keynes, Peterborough, Leicester, Birmingham, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield | London (the M25 area), Cardiff, Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Birmingham, Coventry, Warwick, Reading | Zones 1 to 6 (excluding the district of Epping Forest) |
| Airports covered | – Heathrow – Gatwick – Stansted – Luton – London City | – Heathrow – Gatwick – Stansted – Luton – London City – Southend-on-Sea | – Heathrow – Gatwick – Stansted – Luton – London City | – Heathrow – Gatwick – Stansted – Luton – London City |
| Destination trips / day | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Main address | Building 2, Moretown, 4 Thomas More St, London E1W 1YW | Bolt Hub, 114 Power Road, Chiswick, W4 5PY | WeWork, 131 Finsbury Pavement, London, EC2A 1NT | 47-51 Great Suffolk Street, London SE1 0BS |
| Drivers' phone number | 0808 169 7335 | 0808 169 8818 | 0203 972 0800 | 0203 868 9363 |
1. Uber
Uber is the market leader in London as well as the UK. A trusted provider worldwide, the brand has become synonymous with ridesharing over the years. If you want to become an Uber driver, check the Uber driver requirements and see if your car meets the Uber eligibility criteria.
Pros
Large customer base – little downtime between rides
Intuitive, easy-to-use app
Flexible – pick and choose the jobs you want
Cashout option
£1.50 extra for each journey through the Congestion charge zone
Cons
Relatively high commission rate
The surge pricing feature is sometimes unstable
Compliance can be problematic – documents, incident investigation, etc.
Strong competition due to large driver base
TIP: If you can’t avoid entering the Congestion charge zone, it’s best to aim for more trips in the area to maximise your income. 15 trips within Central London will offset your daily Congestion Charge.
2. Bolt
Owned by Taxify, Bolt joined the rideshare revolution in London with a delay, having waited two years to get their TfL licence under the Hopp moniker. They’ve been offering attractive promotions to boost their driver- and customer base ever since. Bolt now operates within the M25 and throughout many other UK areas.
Pros
Radius feature – only see pickup requests within a certain distance of you (anywhere between 0.6 - 5.3 miles)
Pickup lottery – Airport rides are assigned to the driver that can arrive the quickest
Attractive commission rate
Weekly payout
Riders pay a penalty if they keep you waiting at the pickup spot
£1.50 extra for each journey through the Congestion charge zone
In-app panic button that connects you directly to the police
Giveaways - including cash referral bonuses and even cars
Easy, all-online onboarding
Cons
Slow periods due to growing customer base
Second biggest rideshare app
Constantly improving app features sometimes lead to instability
3. Ola
Ola is a global ridesharing company that launched in London in early 2020. This app offers both a licenced taxi and a private hire service, which meant they got off to a strong start having thousands of cab drivers already on board from day one. In addition to the traditional commission-based business model, they offer two guaranteed-income plans. Here, instead of a commission after each ride, you pay a fixed weekly fee and you get a guaranteed minimum income even if you don’t reach your weekly target. However, these are only suitable for full-time drivers as they require you to drive at least 50 hours per week.
Pros
Six weeks of zero charges and decent commission rates onwards
Guaranteed-income plans for full-time drivers
Daily payouts
‘Go to’ feature to plan your journey home.
£1 extra for each journey through the Congestion charge zone
Cons
Limited earnings compared to more expensive apps
Some features in the app can be unstable
4. Free Now (Kapten)
Kapten is a French private hire company that launched in London in June 2019, and later announced to rebrand as Free Now. They operate in zones 1-6 and the area surrounding all major airports (London City Airport, Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted). They offer fixed pricing, meaning that both riders and drivers know the exact fare before setting off.
An interesting feature of the app is that it allows riders to hire private cars as well as black cabs.
Pros
Gift vouchers and a free goodie bag for new riders, and up to £20 extra during peak hours in the initial weeks
Referral bonuses
£1 extra for each journey through the Congestion charge zone
Weekly payouts in three payments – fares, bonuses, and tips
Weekly prizes for the highest-rated drivers
Coverage for certain cleaning expenses if riders damage your car and you can prove it
Cons
Slow periods due to limited customer base
Limited earnings compared to more expensive apps
About Splend
At Splend, we believe in drivers. We know their vehicles need to work harder than most; that they drive more miles than most; that their insurance is hefty; their maintenance costs high and that they can face unreasonable finance rates – which is a heavy load to carry on their own.
That’s why at Splend, we exist to support rideshare drivers with a new model, that takes all those car ownership costs, and provides them for less, with lower purchase prices, better rates, lower servicing and insurance costs – all for one weekly repayment, all in one place.
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