Bolt Commission and Driver Take-Home in Tanzania

How a Bolt fare is built

Bolt's route estimates are a fixed component plus a per-kilometre rate, fitted separately for each city that publishes them. In Dar es Salaam a 4-seat car is about 505 TZS to start plus 808 TZS a kilometre — the floor of LATRA's band (500 plus 800) with the 1% LATRA levy applied. Arusha, Mwanza and Dodoma sit above that floor. The four city rate cards reproduce 25 of Bolt's own published route estimates within 1.5% across the sample taken on 27 October 2026, which is why the fare calculator and this guide use them.

Fares differ by city

A single national rate would be wrong, so the calculator fits each city separately. The fixed component in the table is a fitted model term, not a published start fare — outside Dar es Salaam it also absorbs the minimum fare and any time component, which is why it can be above LATRA's published start-fare ceiling without saying anything about compliance.

The spread is large enough to matter to a driver deciding whether a trip is worth taking: the same 10 km is about 8,590 TZS in Dar es Salaam and about 11,190 in Arusha. Bolt's app is still the only place to see the exact quote for a particular route.

Boda and the other vehicle types

Boda (motorcycle), also called bodaboda or pikipiki in Tanzania, is priced only where Bolt publishes it: Dar es Salaam, Mwanza and Dodoma. Arusha's route page offers an Electric Boda instead, so regular Boda is refused there. Boda's fitted rate is lower than a car's, but the same 25.6% deduction is applied because Bolt's commission article does not distinguish vehicle type; check the trip receipt for any Boda-specific difference. In Swahili the fare is nauli.

What Bolt deducts

Bolt's driver support page states the Tanzanian deduction as 20% commission on the final price, VAT on that commission at 3.6% and a 2% booking fee paid by the rider but collected from the driver — about 25.6% in total. The VAT is 18% of the 20% commission, not 18% of the fare, which is why the total is a quarter rather than a third. Tips, bonuses, airport fees and toll fees are outside the commission base.

What a driver keeps on a 10 km trip

Baraka drives a 4-seat Bolt car in Dar es Salaam. A 10 km fare of 8,590 TZS leaves 6,391 TZS after Bolt. Fuel is the next call, and it depends on the car: at EWURA's September 2026 Dar es Salaam petrol cap of 3,796 TZS a litre, a car doing 8 km/L burns about 4,745 TZS on the trip, one doing 12 km/L about 3,163 TZS.

The middle case is the one most drivers quote: at 10 km/L, about 2,595 TZS is left before rent, maintenance and tax. At 8 km/L it is about 1,646 TZS, and at 12 km/L about 3,228 TZS. Those are the numbers to compare with a daily car rent before deciding whether a trip is worth taking.

A month of trips

In Dar es Salaam, twenty 8 km trips a day, 26 days a month, is 520 trips. Each 6,970 TZS trip leaves 5,186 TZS after Bolt, costs about 2,531 TZS in fuel at 12 km/L and sets aside 1,500 TZS of a 30,000 TZS daily rent, so the driver keeps about 1,155 TZS a trip — about 600,607 TZS a month before maintenance and before the 350,000 TZS annual presumptive tax. That tax takes another 29,167 TZS a month on average, leaving roughly 571,440 TZS. Every input there is the driver's own: rent, fuel efficiency, trips a day and what maintenance really costs.

Why the app's quote differs

The calculator uses the metered fare with no surge and no add-ons. The app prices the trip it is actually asked to make, at the moment it is asked:

• Dynamic pricing. Dar es Salaam peak-hour and rain multipliers have been reported at 2–4× the base fare; the calculator lets you pick a multiplier rather than pretending to predict one.
• Airport pickup charges, tolls and waiting time, which are separate from the metered fare. Tips and airport or toll fees are not commissioned.
• Promotions. Bolt said in February 2026 that drivers do not absorb rider discounts and that it reimburses the discounted portion, so a promotional fare should not be read as a driver pay cut — confirm the receipt.
• The route. A longer route, a diversion or a changed destination changes the distance the app prices; the calculator only knows the distance you type.
• Cash and card. The commission applies to both. Most Bolt payments in Tanzania are settled off-app, so a driver may collect cash and owe the commission later.

The LATRA band and the commission range

Government Notice 7284 sets the band the fare must sit inside. For a 4-seat car: a 3,000–4,000 TZS minimum for a trip up to 1 km, a 500–1,000 TZS start, 800–1,000 TZS a kilometre and 80–100 TZS a minute. The 6-seat band is higher throughout. Boda's band is lower: a 1,000–1,500 TZS minimum, a 250–350 TZS start, 300–400 TZS a kilometre and 50–70 TZS a minute, and the calculator uses that floor for a Boda's minimum fare. Commission is permitted in a 10–25% range in the order — Bolt's February 2026 briefing described the current range as 15–25% — and Bolt charges 20%. The order also allows a trip fee of up to 3% and a LATRA levy of 0.5–1%; Bolt's 2% booking fee and the roughly 1% uplift in its Dar es Salaam prices sit inside those limits. Dar es Salaam prices at the floor of the band; Arusha, Mwanza and Dodoma price above it.

What this means for tax

A ride-hailing operator pays TRA's flat 350,000 TZS a year under the presumptive regime rather than tax on turnover, so a driver should set aside about 29,167 TZS a month. That is a separate obligation from Bolt's commission, and the Tanzania Presumptive Tax Calculator covers the schedule including the ride-hailing class.

Related guides

Bolt Commission and Driver Take-Home in Tanzania FAQs