Uklon: average driver age has increased by six months, while the share of 60+ partners grew by 22% in a year

The Uklon taxi platform has released data on structural changes in its driver base during the period of the full-scale war. In an interview with RBC-Ukraine, Uklon's Chief Ride-hailing Officer, Olena Orlova, revealed key metrics: the average age of drivers has risen by six months over the past year, while the share of partners aged 60+ has increased by 22% compared to November 2025. The company emphasises that all drivers are independent partners rather than in-house employees, and that they independently determine their working schedule and volume of work.

Independent partners instead of staff

Orlova stressed that Uklon is a platform where both riders and drivers are equally users. Drivers independently decide when and how to complete trips, influenced by weather, shelling, seasonality and other factors. The company identifies three cohorts of partners: those for whom driving is a main profession; small-business owners and people with part-time employment, for whom Uklon is additional income; and drivers who complete no more than 20–30 trips per month, who view the platform more as a way to make their own trips cheaper. Notably, a recent internal study showed that a significant share of "main" drivers consider themselves Uklon employees, even though legally they are not. The company interprets this as an indicator of the strength of its brand.

Aging driver base and migration factors

Over the past year, the average age of Uklon drivers has increased by six months, while the share of 60+ partners has grown by 22% compared to November 2025. Orlova links this to the overall rise in demand for work among older generations and to changes in the market structure after September 2025, when the borders were opened for men aged up to 22 (inclusive) to leave the country. At the same time, the company explicitly refuses to attribute changes in the number of male drivers to mobilisation: "We cannot say that mobilisation has affected the number of male drivers on the platform, since we are recording year-on-year growth in the number of active driver-partners." The growth is explained by internal migration — the movement of people from eastern and southern regions to north-western areas, as well as relocation from small settlements to large cities, where Uklon performs the function of "unemployment cushioning."

Women behind the wheel: from 0.5% to 4%

Two years ago, the share of female partners in the service was only 0.5%, whereas by now this figure has risen to approximately 4%. To encourage the recruitment of women, the company has launched a number of measures: an increased bonus in the referral programme, special value propositions in the DriverUp loyalty programme, and a reduced commission for active female drivers. In March 2025, the "Women" class was launched — a separate fare tier in which female drivers serve female passengers. At the time the interview was published, the class is available in four Ukrainian cities and is positioned as a "new level of comfort," while for drivers it represents an additional earning opportunity and the ability to tailor orders to their preferences.

Working conditions: vehicle fleet, leasing and curfew

Owning a personal car is not a requirement for working with Uklon. The platform works with more than 1,000 partner vehicle fleets, some of which offer cars for rent. A driver can find a suitable fleet independently or through the service's website. Uklon also actively supports the development of vehicle fleets and the renewal of their vehicles through preferential leasing. As for working during curfew, fare formation and driver earnings levels, Orlova, in her interview with RBC-Ukraine, framed these topics as part of a broader discussion of the platform's basic terms; however, specific figures on income and the fare grid were not disclosed in the provided excerpt.

Contradictory data

In the interview, Orlova states that mobilisation has not had a direct impact on the number of male drivers, supporting this claim with the assertion of "year-on-year growth in active partners." However, in the same material the company points to structural shifts — the aging of the base and the growth of the 60+ share — which are indirectly linked to the departure of men of conscription and older age to the front or abroad. Thus, the position that "mobilisation has not had an impact" and the observation of a demographic shift toward older age may be perceived as contradictory: formally the number of partners is growing, but the qualitative composition is changing. Moreover, in open sources (NGDU, RBC) the issue of the tax obligations of Uklon and Uber drivers is being discussed in parallel, creating additional context: some partners may be moving into the "grey" zone or reducing their activity due to fiscal pressure, which potentially affects the statistics the company publishes. The exact figures for the 22% growth and the 4% share of women are self-reported Uklon metrics and have not been confirmed by an independent audit.