If you opened Uber in Lagos or Abuja in September 2026 and found nothing to book, you weren't imagining it. Uber wound down its operations in Nigeria on 2 September 2026, citing "evolving business priorities" across the continent. The app may still sit on your phone, but there are no Uber cars behind it any more — in Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan or anywhere else it used to run.
Here's what that means for riders, what's still working, and how to pick between the apps that are left.
What actually changed
Uber stopped taking trips in Nigeria on 2 September 2026. UberMoto, the motorcycle option it ran in Ibadan, went with it. Thousands of drivers who worked through Uber have moved their hours to other platforms — Bolt and inDrive both recruited them openly — so most of the cars themselves are still on the road. What's gone is the app you were used to, and with it the card on file, the ride history, and the habit.
For riders, the practical questions are simple: which app do I open now, how do I pay, and what's different.
What's still working
Bolt is the closest like-for-like replacement. You get a fixed, upfront fare on the screen before you book, you can pay by card, in-app balance or cash, and there are a few vehicle tiers. Trip sharing, an in-app emergency button and driver ratings work the way you'd expect. The fare multiplies when demand spikes — rain, Third Mainland Bridge at six, a Friday evening on the Lekki–Epe Expressway — exactly as Uber's did.
inDrive works differently, and ex-Uber riders either love it or don't. You propose the price you want to pay; drivers nearby accept it or counter with their own, and you agree a number before anyone moves. Payment is mostly cash in Nigeria. Because you're naming the price, there's no surge multiplier in the usual sense — but when demand is high, drivers simply decline low offers, and you end up raising yours.
LagRide is the Lagos State-backed option. Fixed fares, a fleet of newer cars driven under a hire-purchase scheme, and Lagos only. It's a sensible thing to have installed if you're on the Island or in Ikeja.
Intra Cab is the new arrival — it opened in Nigeria in October 2026, so it's the one you've least likely heard of. It turns the model around: you post the trip, drivers nearby each send you their own price in naira, and you choose one with the driver's name, photo, car and rating next to it. No surge, because no algorithm sets the price; no commission, so the driver keeps what you pay; cash only, paid directly to the driver at the end. It has car, motorcycle and bus options. We're the ones writing this, so read the honest part below before you judge it.
Side by side
| Bolt | inDrive | LagRide | Intra Cab | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who sets the price | The app, upfront | You propose, drivers counter | The app, upfront | Drivers quote, you choose |
| Surge pricing | Yes | No multiplier; drivers decline low offers | Fixed fares | None |
| Payment | Card, balance, cash | Mostly cash | In-app and cash | Cash, direct to driver |
| Where | Lagos, Abuja and other cities | Lagos, Abuja and other cities | Lagos | Nationwide, few drivers yet |
| Motorcycle | No | Parcels only | No | Yes, where okada is legal |
If you were an Uber regular, a few practical notes
Payment. If paying by card mattered to you, Bolt is the one that keeps that habit. inDrive and Intra Cab are cash-first; have small notes, because a driver at the end of a ₦3,500 trip won't always have change for ₦10,000.
Airport runs. Murtala Muhammed's pickup arrangements favour the big apps' designated zones; whichever app you use, agree the pickup point in the chat before the driver arrives, and expect a fixed-fare app to price the airport higher at peak flight times.
Safety checks. This didn't change. Match the car and the driver's face to what the app shows before you get in, share your trip with someone if you're riding at night, and sit in the back. Every app above shows you the driver and the car before they arrive.
Okada. Motorcycle taxis are banned outright in ten Lagos local government areas — Ikeja, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland, Surulere, Eti-Osa, Apapa, Kosofe, Oshodi-Isolo, Somolu and Mushin — and on every expressway and bridge in the state, and the task force does impound bikes. None of the apps above will get you a legal bike there. In the outer LGAs, and in Ibadan where okada is legal and regulated, Intra Cab is at the moment the only app with a passenger motorcycle option switched on — and right now, without a single bike driver on it.
Install more than one
The honest advice for Nigeria after Uber is the same as for any market with a few mid-sized apps: have two or three installed. Driver supply moves between them week by week, especially now that thousands of ex-Uber drivers are settling somewhere, and on any given evening the right app is simply the one with a car three streets away. They're all free.
Where Intra Cab stands, honestly
Intra Cab arrived in Nigeria in October 2026 and is signing up its first Lagos drivers now. Bolt and inDrive have years of head start and real driver numbers; we have a growing handful. For a while, many requests — especially outside Ikeja, the Island and the mainland centre, and late at night — will get few offers or none. So: keep Bolt or inDrive, install Intra alongside, and post the trip on both. If a driver answers on Intra, you'll see exactly what they want for it, with no multiplier, and every naira goes to them.
Download Intra Cab — free on Android and iPhone.
More for riders in Nigeria: Taxi in Lagos — how Intra Cab works in the city · Getting around Lagos: danfo, BRT, keke, okada and the apps · Bolt vs inDrive vs Intra Cab for riders in Lagos · Drivers: what each app leaves in your hand after Uber's exit
Uber's exit date and stated reason are as reported in the Nigerian press in September 2026. Descriptions of Bolt, inDrive and LagRide are based on how each service describes itself publicly as of October 2026; features and coverage change, so check the current apps. Okada restrictions are as published by Lagos State and reported in October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Email sales@intra.cab and we'll fix it.