Is it cheaper to use Uber and Bolt or own a car in South Africa?

[BusinessTech]

Is it cheaper to use Uber and Bolt or own a car in South Africa?

Should e-hailing be considered an option over owning a car? Bolt, the e-hailing service, notes that it offers varying ride categories, including an economy category to help riders cut costs even further. A 15km trip on Bolt costs as little as R131 – and if you were travelling to work and back just twice a week, your monthly travel costs to work and back would be R2,096, it says.

 

[krycor]

Problem with their assertion is that it’s an apples vs pears comparison.

Yes you need to compare total cost of ownership but.. you also need to acknowledge that you thus own a (lossy) asset which has a value. What they could do is remove the asset/capital payment from that value to get a “true” cost.

Since the break down comes to the similar value as hailing a cab.. is it really good value seeing as you losing that capital amount even for a limited distance and at an inconvenience?

 

[JuliusSeizure]

It depends. If you stay at home most of the time, work at home and only go out of home a few times a week (and not to far distances), using Bolt will be cheaper. If you need to commute everyday, Bolt will never work out cheaper.

A ride on Bolt/Uber that will cost R100 will probably cost about R20 if you drive it.

An hidden aspect about these ride apps is that the prices surge. If you are attending a packed concert or sports event etc, you will play a ridiculous amount when it detects that there is heavy demand from the same location.

Hopefully they get cheaper as DiDi and new alternatives come to the market. Hopefully it can one day work out cheaper than not having a car.

One of the things the Chinese are good at is bringing cheaper alternatives to the market. Had it not been for them, majority of South African's probably would have been priced out of the smartphone market.