For many people new to Lagos, the ride-hailing app is the transport system. It is the easiest way to get from A to B without knowing the danfo routes, and the most expensive.
Which apps
Uber left Nigeria on 2 September 2026, after more than a decade. The apps people use now are Bolt and inDrive, with smaller local services. Install more than one: when one has no cars nearby, or surges, the other often does not.
On inDrive you offer a fare and drivers accept, counter or ignore it. Offer too little at rush hour and nobody comes.
What it costs
Fares are set by demand. They rise sharply in rain, at rush hour and late at night, and a short trip off-peak starts from about ₦3,500. Fuel prices move fares too.
Traffic changes the price as well as the time: a trip that takes an hour instead of twenty minutes costs more. Check the estimate before you confirm.
Paying
You can pay in the app by card, by cash, or by bank transfer to the driver. Cash and transfer depend on agreeing the amount: the app’s fare is the fare. Drivers sometimes ask to end the trip early, or to go “off the app” for a lower price. Do not: an off-app trip has no record, no tracking and no support if something goes wrong.
Safety
- Check the car and the plate against the app before you get in, and ask the driver your name rather than telling them it.
- Share the trip with someone from the app.
- Sit in the back. Keep the doors locked and your phone out of sight at traffic lights.
- Do not get in if anyone else is in the car. That is how a one-chance robbery starts.
- At the airport, book from the official pickup point.
If something feels wrong, end the trip somewhere busy and get out.