Ziarul Financiar: Uber and Bolt have in Romania over 100,000 drivers who don't pay taxes or contributions

Uber and Bolt, the two alternative transportation platforms that dominate the Romanian market, have together registered over 100,000 affiliated drivers by the end of May 2025, according to official data from the Romanian Road Authority (ARR) reported at the request of Ziarul Financiar.

The drivers who work for Bolt or Uber are, however, not employees but collaborate in various forms, through various Bolt and Uber partner companies, with unclear contracts. In any case, they don't pay taxes or social contributions, according to Ziarul Financiar.

The ARR data shows that as of May 30, 2025, there were 54,480 badges issued for Bolt affiliated drivers and 51,422 valid badges for Uber affiliated drivers. This is the first time that data on the number of drivers working for Uber and Bolt has been made public.

The number of authorized operators has exploded: if in 2020 there were only 1,622 active entities with authorizations for alternative transport, at the end of May 2025, there were 15,127, according to ARR. In the same period, the number of compliant copies of authorizations – that is, vehicles approved for ride-hailing – reached 55,877.

(Photo source: Joa Souza/Dreamstime.com)