Ride-Hailing in the UK — Who Will Take Over from Uber?

Uber has been dominating the London ride-hailing scene in recent years, but now that it has lost its license to continue to operate — we have explored insights into who the other players are in the UK and who is best positioned to win the UK ride-hailing market:

• Uber is installed on significantly more Android devices (install penetration) than competitors in the UK
• Bolt’s Android app had the highest percentage point YOY growth in install penetration in Q3 2019 — compared to Kapten and ViaVan
• Bolt’s Android app has the most monthly active users and the strongest YOY growth in monthly active users compared to Kapten and ViaVan
• ViaVan’s Android app is experiencing a downward trend in monthly active users in the UK

Riders

Uber is installed on the most Android devices in the UK by far (install penetration), compared to other ride-hailing apps. In Q3 2019 Uber had an average install penetration of 18.5% compared to Bolt that had an average install penetration of 0.8%, Kapten 0.4%, and ViaVan 0.6%. In September 2019 Bolt managed to reach an install penetration of over 1% in the UK, whilst Kapten’s and ViaVan’s install penetration remains below 1%.

So which player is best positioned to win over the UK market once Uber is no longer?

Bolt has both the highest install penetration and the largest percentage point YOY growth in install penetration in the UK, compared to Kapten and ViaVan.

In addition, the Bolt Android app also had the most monthly active users (MAUs) in the UK in Q3 2019, and this is also growing at a faster rate than the other players.

ViaVan had the least MAUs in Q3 2019, 49,390, and is also the only app that is experiencing a downward trend in MAUs.

Drivers

Usage of the Driver apps for these ride-hailing services provides insight into which service has more drivers available, indicating shorter wait times for riders.

For additional reading on ride-hailing services, take a look at this piece specifically focused on metrics in the U.S. ecosystem. SimilarWeb’s data continues to provide businesses with market intelligence insight.