Updated Date: Jun 25, 2025
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Welcome to the Bolt Taxi Business Model.
Bolt App, formerly known as Taxify, was created in 2013 and has since become one of the most efficient mobility solutions in the world.
Taxify(Bolt) saw tremendous growth from 10 million customers in May 2018 to 25 million in February 2019, and has now surpassed 150 million customers globally as of July 2023. Bolt, whose very name connotes success, overshadowed Uber throughout Africa in 2018. Currently, Bolt operates in over 45 countries and 500 cities across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America.The Bolt business model has grown significantly, with an annual revenue of €2 billion (approximately $2.11 billion) as of 2024. Bolt has been around for several years and continues to compete with the likes of Uber, Didi, Grab, Lyft, Go-Jek, FreeNow, and Cabify.
This article will answer questions such as,“What is a Bolt app?”“How does Bolt work as a taxi app development system?” and “How does Bolt make money?”
What Is A Bolt App?
| Company | Bolt Taxify |
|---|---|
| Founder | Markus Villig |
| Founded Date | August 3, 2013 |
| Headquarter | Tallinn, Estonia |
| Area Served | over 45 countries such as Europe, Africa, Western Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. |
| Annual Revenue | €2 billion (In November 2024) |
| Website | https://bolt.eu/en/ |
Over 150 locations have access to Bolt, a mobility platform that provides bolt rideshare, food delivery, e-scooter, and automobile rental services, all through a single app.
The company partners with freelancers to provide this assistance, and they are independent contractors who get compensated on a per-job basis. Similarly, the Bolt app collaborates with neighborhood eateries and grocery stores to supply the contractors with food and drink for delivery.
As the platform’s operator, Bolt handles payments and matches available supply (drivers) with demand (customers). In addition to its ride-hailing and food-delivery features, an app like Bolt lets customers reserve electric bicycles and scooters.
Bolt’s Bolt Scooter Platform enables independent business owners to leverage Bolt’s infrastructure and product supply to launch and manage their scooter fleets. Its franchise strategy encompasses its core ride-hailing and food-delivery businesses and its ancillary services, allowing regional companies to join forces with the startup to bring its offerings to their respective communities.
Bolt’s final offering is a software called Bolt Dispatcher, which assists taxi businesses in managing their fleet. You can get the Bolt app for your Android or iOS-powered smartphone or tablet, and users can also use the Bolt Web App, which provides browser-based access to the service.
Bolt: The Origin
Estonian startup Bolt operates in the car-sharing, food delivery, and micro-mobility markets. Markus Villig started the business in 2013.
After having trouble reserving a taxi online after participating in a Garage48 hackathon, Villig was motivated to create the Bolt app. He started working on a new platform to transform the taxi sector in Tallinn, Estonia’s capital, right away, despite also studying for his high school examinations. Taxi services at the time mostly followed an antiquated paradigm in which customers had to make reservations with an operator at a dispatch center.
With a €5,000 loan from his parents, Villig created a working prototype of his invention. About a hundred cab drivers responded to his inquiries about the platform. Launched in August of 2013, the venue was originally called mTakso before being renamed Taxify to reflect its role as an aggregator of local taxi services.
While many cabbies were first hesitant to sign up, Villig worked tirelessly over the following six months to win them over. With the app’s success, Villig brought on his brother Martin and independent programmer Oliver Leisalu to help out. The app’s programming was rewritten from the ground up so that users could track their drivers in real-time.
After successfully crowdfunding €1.4 million in December 2014, Bolt began rapidly expanding. The platform’s openness to drivers from all walks of life and locations in Europe has played a major role in this growth. The month of September 2018 was a pivotal moment for the company. A few months after debuting their Bolt brand of electric scooters to the streets of Paris, Taxify rebranded themselves as Bolt.
In 2024, Bolt achieved a significant milestone by reaching €2 billion (approximately $2.11 billion USD) in annual revenue, up from €1.7 billion in 2023. This growth reflects the company’s strategic diversification into services such as ride-hailing, micromobility, and food delivery, which helped it navigate challenges like the pandemic more effectively.
In 2024, Bolt Business recorded a 56% growth in gross merchandise value, with a 213% increase in clients, further highlighting the company’s robust expansion. Bolt continues to expand its services, including launching its Hopp app in Canada in early 2025, marking its entry into the North American market.
How Does Bolt Make Their Money? – The Revenue Model
Bolt generates revenue via various sources, including commissions, e-scooter, automobile rentals, software subscription fees, and franchise fees.
Bolt is essentially a marketplace in terms of its operations. To keep its marketplace running well, it must guarantee a constant supply (from restaurants and drivers) and then match that supply with the existing demand.
In the following section, we’ll examine the various revenue streams the organization operates inside in greater detail.
1. Subscriptions
Bolt app generates marginal income from selling its dispatch software to taxi companies. Because of the software’s capabilities, drivers can automatically assign jobs depending on their location and predefined wait times. Additionally, Bolt introduced Bolt Plus, a subscription service offering discounts and promotional benefits for mobility and delivery services. The subscription fee for Bolt Plus is charged monthly or yearly, with prices varying by country. This service enhances user experience and provides recurring revenue for the company.
The dispatch software inspired bolt (or, more accurately, Taxify). A monthly subscription fee of €12 to €15 per driver. Likely, the previous bolt pricing is still in effect.
2. Franchising
Bolt makes money through a franchising strategy that lets independent business owners utilize the company’s technology to launch their local ride-hailing apps.
Thanks to this business structure, franchisees can benefit from Bolt’s established brand name and cutting-edge infrastructure. Because of this, the time it takes to bring their product to market is drastically reduced.
Anyone interested in joining must already have the appropriate financial resources and an established local network. Although details are few, it is safe to infer that Bolt franchisees benefit from a cut of the company’s profits. This means that the local partner’s profits will be shared with the firm, with the company keeping a percentage.
3. Service Charges
Bolt’s primary source of income is the numerous commissions it collects from drivers and eateries. The commission charged to drivers ranges from 10% to 25% of the total order value, and the primary factor in determining the percentage is where they are driving.
Similarly, the Bolt app takes a cut of each order placed by a restaurant on the platform. Unfortunately, the company does not make its prices available to the public. Use Deliveroo’s percentage range of 20% – 35% as a guide (again, dependent on location). Similarly, Bolt Food is probably within that price range.
Additionally, Bolt charges a 10% service fee for all rides. Bolt also has fees for delivery and payment processing, which go toward paying delivery drivers and the payment processing networks (such as Mastercard and Visa).
4. Rentals
Bolt users can do more than just order food or hail a cab; they can also hire e-scooters and vehicles from nearby vendors. Users must pay €1 to unlock a scooter and then €0.15 each minute to ride it.
Customers of its automobile service, Bolt Drive, also pay per minute. Additional charges may be incurred if the reservation time exceeds 15 minutes.
Bolt is the owner and service provider for the e-scooters and potentially other vehicles. That means the business gets to keep 100% of its profits. However, these businesses can be quite pricey to maintain because of the constant need to recharge scooters and replace worn-out or broken ones.
Read Also: How to Start a Car Rental Business Online?
Bolt: Finances, Earnings, And Market Value
In 2019, Bolt reported yearly revenue of €148 million, which grew to €221 million in 2020, marking a €73 million increase. By 2023, Bolt’s annual revenue reached €1.7 billion, and in 2024, it further increased to €2 billion.
Bolt has raised over $1.3 billion across 12 funding rounds, with its most recent Series E round in January 2022 securing $628 million, pushing its valuation to €7.4 billion. Notable investors include Sequoia Capital, Fidelity Management & Research Co., D1 Capital Partners, and others.
The company now operates in over 45 countries, serving more than 150 million customers globally, and is planning an IPO in 2025 to further solidify its market presence.
Bolt Taxi Business Model
In recent years, taxi and ridesharing apps have skyrocketed globally, and Uber and Bolt are the two biggest players in this market.
Bolt, launched in 2013, has evolved from a taxi app into a mobility super-app offering ride-hailing, food delivery, car-sharing (Bolt Drive), grocery delivery (Bolt Market), and micromobility rentals (e-scooters and e-bikes). By 2023, Bolt served over 150 million customers globally across 45 countries and 500 cities.
Despite challenges during the pandemic years, Bolt maintained optimism and avoided layoffs or significant reductions in pay or benefits. The company has embraced environmentally friendly mobility options as part of its sustainability goals to become carbon net-zero by 2040. In November 2024, Bolt faced legal challenges in the UK Employment Tribunal but continues to expand its services globally.
Bolt Business Delivery remains a key offering for corporate clients, with 213% growth in clients reported in 2024. The company is preparing for an IPO in 2025 to further strengthen its market position.
Read Also: Uber Business Model: How Does Uber Make Money??
How Does Bolt Work?
Bolt app offers its services to the public via Mobile app development services that it controls itself. The bolt app facilitates bolt ride requests using mobile devices. Bolt can be downloaded from the Google Play Store, the Apple App Store, the Windows Phone Store, and the Huawei App Gallery. Passengers have a wide variety of payment choices to select from. Customers must pay for the Bolt service in advance and have several payment options.
The customer must use the bolt driver app to request a ride and specify where they want to be picked up and dropped off. After a Bolt driver accepts a trip request, the customer may quickly see the driver’s name and information about the car they will be riding in. As soon as the ride is over, the driver and the passenger can leave ratings for one another.
Bolt’s primary goal has always been to ensure its clients’ security. Each and every one of Bolt’s drivers are subjected to a thorough background check and receive in-person instruction. The minimum age for these drivers is 21, and they must have held their license for at least three years. Tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drug use are all strictly prohibited by company policy.
Bolt app download for Android now provides drivers with an SOS button that relays urgent messages to the Lagos State Emergency Response Agency in real-time. Customers in London can make use of this service, too.
Bolt Food Business Model
Bolt’s newest venture in the meal delivery industry began in recent years. It being a platform for meal delivery, uses a matchmaking mechanism that benefits its users and local businesses.
Bolt Food is a one-stop shop that provides affordable meal alternatives and local take-out for those who prefer eating in the comfort of their own homes. It is an affiliated local platform may keep its menu fresh and offer convenient payment methods using this platform.
Bolt Business Delivery
Here, the retailers can ship their wares to clients cheaply and efficiently through a user-friendly web interface. It provides on-demand or scheduled deliveries from vendors to customers and Multiple drops off to multiple customers in a single run.
What is the Process For Bolt Business Delivery?
Companies may use a simple web interface to use the Bolt Delivery service. Take a look at its online user interface:
- Businesses can fill out the above form manually or import a CSV file with their information.
- All pickup orders have the option to be collected instantly or within 48 hours.
- The user will receive a rough price estimate according to the order system.
- After an order is placed and the price is verified, the company will send a courier to pick it up at the agreed-upon time.
- Consequently, the courier/delivery will arrive at the designated time and place.
The Bolt web interface also provides batch delivery functionality for enterprises comfortable with this service provisioning method. The Bolt delivery service will coordinate several stops to send packages to different consumers. Also, the Bolt app has a live tracking tool, so sellers and buyers know where their orders stand.
Delivery status is updated in real-time for business users on the web app, and customers are notified through SMS when their package is on its way. The customer’s ETA and the Bolt courier’s contact information will be included in the SMS they receive.
Bolt Business Model In A Nutshell
- Estonian startup, Bolt, operates in the car-sharing, food delivery, and micro-mobility markets. Markus Villig launched the company in 2013 after seeing an opportunity to revolutionize the taxi business in Tallinn.
- Bolt app is based on a marketplace approach that pairs customers with drivers and restaurant owners. The corporation levies commission costs, shipping fees, service fees, and small
order fees, depending on the characteristics of the service and the order. - The bolt app also rents out e-scooters and cars for a fee and offers a taxi dispatch system for sale. To cap it off, the business offers its technology to startup companies looking to
introduce platforms while cutting down on development and launch times.
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How Can aPurple Help You with Taxi Clone App Development?
aPurple has helped more than 120 entrepreneurs to start their digital journey.
Wondering WHY choose aPurple for taxi clone app development? There are not one or two but multiple reasons to choose aPurple for digitizing your taxi business or starting your own ride-sharing business.
- Efficient Clone App Script – We offer white label readymade clone scripts for taxi applications like Bolt, among many others.
- Powerful UI/UX design – Our creative designers will revamp the UI/UX design, creating a powerful and visually captivating experience. Check here – Taxi app design of the Month
- In-House Team of Specialists – Skilled designers and developers on board for end-to-end support.
- Reasonable Pricing – Customized quotes to suit every client’s budget.
- Proven Expertise – We have deployed similar applications before. Who’s better than a clone app development company with top-quality experience?
Get in touch to know more!
FAQs
Bolt drivers in South Africa are paid weekly on Monday mornings. Earnings for the week, including any applicable bonuses, will be included in your payment. If you are the automobile owner, you must make payment arrangements with the driver directly.
The cost of taxi app development, similar to the Bolt app, assuming a fee of $50 development rate per hour, should be in the region of $25,000-$35,000.
