Uklon and Bolt Report Increased Demand for Taxis in Kyiv During Prolonged Air Raid Alerts
During prolonged air raid alerts in Kyiv, demand for taxi services rises significantly. According to data from the online service Bolt, the average number of rides across the city can be 30–50% higher than usual.
Serhiy Pavlik, Bolt’s general manager in Ukraine, responded to a request from Interfax-Ukraine by stating that in areas with high passenger traffic—particularly near the train station, large business centers, and residential complexes— demand may increase by more than 100%. As a result, the number of concurrent orders sometimes exceeds the number of available drivers.
Uklon’s Chief Ride-hailing Officer, Olena Orlova, also confirmed a reduction in the number of drivers who are potentially available to fulfill rides during air raid alerts. Companies attribute this to safety risks, disruptions in GPS navigation, and increased traffic congestion.
At the same time, Uklon notes that despite rising demand, the number of trips actually completed during peak air raid alert periods may decrease slightly. According to Orlova, to balance supply and demand under such conditions, the service uses dynamic pricing, which determines the price at which a driver will agree to take a ride.
“During traffic gridlock, dynamic pricing becomes an especially essential tool for maintaining the service’s operations, ensuring people can get home when other options are unavailable,” noted the Uklon representative.
Bolt also confirmed the use of dynamic pricing, which is applied in specific areas rather than citywide. This is intended to help attract more drivers and keep them online during periods of high demand.
“The longer the alert lasts, the more the number of active drivers may decrease and, accordingly, the cost of a ride in certain areas may increase,” Pavlik explained.
According to Bolt, depending on the duration and severity of the air raid alert, as well as the time of day, ride prices may vary by neighborhood and category. At the same time, once the balance between supply and demand is restored, the price automatically decreases.
Pavlik also noted that during air raid alerts, the average trip duration and wait time for a car may increase slightly. However, these figures do not rise in direct proportion to the duration of the alert and may vary depending on the city’s neighborhood.
As a reminder, following an internal investigation, the Bolt taxi service permanently banned Russian-speaking driver Tetyana from the platform after she verbally abused Ukrainian women in Milan because of their language.
More than 90% of taxi drivers in Ukraine work without formal employment contracts. As a result, the state loses approximately 4.5 billion hryvnias in tax revenue each year. The government is preparing a reform aimed at simplifying legal employment for drivers while making the market more transparent.
On July 28, the Counterintelligence Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine exposed and detained a Russian military intelligence agent in the Donetsk region. He turned out to be a taxi driver from Kramatorsk who was passing information to the enemy to help target the city and surrounding areas with shelling.
