Over 1 million ride-hailing trips connect daily to public transport and airports across Thailand’s main cities. These journeys play a key role in helping tourists visit Thailand and empowering local businesses.
These findings are part of the Ride-Hailing Economy report, which aims to understand the sector’s overall impact on the Thai economy. Thailand is the first country in Asia that Bolt launched in, while Malaysia recently became the second.
Outside of Thailand, the Oliver Wyman Mobility Forum recently studied the global picture, which estimated that the shared mobility sector would sustain 16 million earning opportunities by 2030, with around 95% of those coming from ride-hailing driving.
- Asia is the fastest-growing region in drivers, with around 11.6 million forecast by 2030, an 84% increase from 2023.
- Thailand is leading the rapid growth of shared mobility across the continent. Since ride-hailing services became available in 2013, the sector has grown to 11 licenced platforms: Grab, Bolt, Hello Phuket Service, Bonku, Asia Cab, AirAsia Super App, inDrive, Maxim, LINE MAN, TADA, and Lalamove, operating in around 60 cities.
- The biggest cities are Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Phuket, and Hat Yai, with Chiang Rai, Tak, Udon Thani, Ubon Ratchathani, and Phitsanulok emerging as surprising outliers. These platforms now create regular earnings opportunities for more than 500,000 active drivers, representing around 10% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past five years.
Who drives with Bolt?
- Thai drivers are younger than the global average, with 79% being under 44, and also comparatively well educated, with 40% holding bachelor’s degrees or higher. Approximately 7% of drivers are women — higher than the global average of 4%.
- If drivers had the choice between ride-hailing and a similar earning opportunity, 65% would choose the former.
- 59% of drivers feel less stressed about their financial situation due to driving.
- 50% of drivers say it’s the only earning opportunity available to them.
- The average net earnings of a Thai driver with a 75% utilisation rate on the ride-hailing platform are ฿30,000/month, surpassing the national minimum wage by 250%.
- In Thailand, services now cover over 1 million routes daily, including many underserved areas not reached by traditional public transport. Services can also connect with public transport for longer journeys. 25% of monthly journeys end at public transport hubs such as airports and train stations.
- Approximately 25% of ride-hailing users in Thailand are foreign tourists, accounting for 20.18 million rides in 2024.
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