A Bolt Lite driver, who drives the mustard coloured Bajaj Qute quadricycles in the Joburg north, has shared how he pocketed monthly earnings of close to R30,000 — tripling the earnings from his previous job as an admin worker.
Nkosinathi, a young driver in his late 20s, who stays in Ferndale, Randburg, ditched his admin job three months ago and took a chance driving Bolt’s budget Bajaj Qute, a compact quadricycle.
Now on his fourth month, the enthusiastic driver, is aiming to make R40,000 in earnings for March.
Asked if he was making money driving on the platform, he said he was making “comfortable” money.
“I actually left my previous job to do this, I was in an admin role,” he said, sharing that he earned around R8,000 monthly.
“I make more money now,” he said.
The Bajaj/Bolt partnership explained
The Gauteng department of economic development, Bolt and their partner, My Next Car, introduced the mustard coloured Bajaj quadricycles last year to service short trips, primarily in the Joburg north areas, for places such as Sandton, Randburg, Fourways, Rosebank and Melville.
Bolt described the Bajaj as “compact and fuel-efficient for short trips”.
In introducing the quadricycles, Bolt created a new ride category — Bolt Lite — which is cheaper than the previous cheapest ride category, Bolt Go Hatch.
E-hailing associations and driver representatives have been critical of Bolt for introducing the Bajaj, arguing it would put drivers at risk of further attacks from minibus taxi drivers due to the low pricing.
Running costs and earnings
Nkosinathi said he made over R35,000 before expenses in February, and was pushing for R40,000 this month. He said he paid MyNextCar R1,500 weekly, which equates to about R6,000 monthly for the quadricycle.
A full tank on the machine costs about R200, with earnings on each refill expected to quadruple to around R800.
“People underestimate this car,” he said grinning.
“I am trying to get up to like R40,000 this month, but we will see how it goes.”
Nkosinathi, who did not want to be photographed, said he was comfortable.
“When I say comfortable, that's what I am talking about,” he said laughing at the R29,000 he made in February.
Advertising earnings
Nkosinathi has a Bolt-branded Bajaj, which nets him an additional R1,500 each month.
A fortnight ago, Bolt announced the introduction of the branded Bajaj category for drivers, which allowed them to earn extra income. They did not say how much extra drivers would earn.
“We are excited to introduce branded vehicles for drivers in South Africa. This initiative not only allows us to enhance the visibility of the Bolt brand but also provides drivers with an additional source of income,” said the e-hailing company’s Sandra Suzanne Buyole, the public relations manager for Africa.
“At Bolt, we are committed to supporting our driver-partners and providing them with innovative opportunities to succeed in the ride-hailing industry.”
But is it safe and reliable?
With a top speed of around 70km/h, the Bajaj Qute quadricycle isn't exactly nippy and with not a single airbag in it, it’s not exactly getting a five star rating for safety either.
It is legally classified as a compact quadricycle, which technically speaking, means it is not a car.
It does however have four seatbelts for the passenger seats available, two at the front, and two at the back. In a 2016 report by the the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), they reported it had no belt pretensioners, load limiters or knee airbags.
However, according to Bolt, only one passenger is allowed on a single trip, although people are often seen in twos and sometimes threes.
Bajaj Auto South Africa says on its website: “What’s more, it’s a safe and affordable mode of transport for the commuter and provides employment for drivers and fleet owners”.
Previous safety ratings have given it a one out of five rating in safety standards test by the Euro NCAP.
“The structure of the (Bajaj) Qute was judged to be unstable in the frontal test: many spot welds had released and deformation of the structure indicated that it could not have withstood a higher degree of loading. There were no signs of deformation to any mounting points for the seat belt or buckle.
“In the side impact, the door on the struck side became detached from the A-pillar as a result of the door structure detaching from the hinges,” Euro NCAP said in its report.
It said on frontal impact, the test dummy's head made contact with the centre of the steering wheel.
“There is no frontal airbag to protect the driver and dummy readings indicated a high probability of serious or fatal injury in a human as a result of this contact. Protection of the neck was rated as good,” the report said.
“Together with the unstable structure, contact with the rim of the steering wheel gave high chest compressions and the protection offered to this body area was rated as poor,” it continued.
“Protection of the knee, femur and pelvis was also rated as poor owing to the presence of hard structures below the dashboard. In the side impact, the force with which the head struck the side roof rail indicated a high probability of serious or fatal injury,” according to the report.
“There is no side curtain airbag or padding in this area. Similarly, dummy readings of lateral rib compression were high and protection of chest was rated as poor. Protection of the abdomen was rated as marginal and that of the pelvis was good, with only moderate force measured by the dummy.”
The Bajaj Qute weighs about 400kg and according to the Bajaj SA website, it is around 2.7 metres long and about 1.3 metres wide. It's height is around 1.6 metres.
The Bajaj has increased in price from about R65,000 in 2021 to R95,000 this year.
Clashes with taxis
In September last year, angry Bolt Bajaj drivers protested in Randburg after a video of a driver driving the mustard coloured quadricycles went viral after the car was smashed by angry minibus taxi patrollers in a Joburg suburb.
Reflecting on the safety issues, Nkosinathi said it was best to steer clear of minibus and meter taxi drivers.
He said the Bolt Bajaj was not allowed to operate in places like Soweto and the Johannesburg CBD due to the threat of violence.
Bajaj drivers have been accused in the past of venturing in a price segment that was too close to the minibus taxis.
IOL asked Nkosinathi if he was not scared of taxi drivers, he said: “Even the taxi drivers tell us don't pick up here, they don't want to see us too close to the taxi ranks”.
He said some of the no go areas included the Sandton Gautrain Station, Roodeport and townships around Joburg, like Soweto and Alexandra, the mustard quads were barred from operating in those areas.
Jokingly, the driver said Bolt should not allow anymore Bajaj drivers to enter as it would saturate the market.
Have your say. Would you ride Bolt’s budget Bajaj? Would you feel safe?
sihle.mlambo@inl.co.za
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