You're picking up on something real. Grab's been running higher commissions on bike rides for a while now, something like 30-35% versus Bolt's 15-20%, so drivers naturally gravitate where they keep more of the fare. I've also noticed Grab's app will sometimes show you a bike that's 1.5km away when there's a Bolt driver literally around the corner, which suggests they're throttling the rider pool on purpose to push people toward car options. If you're near an area like Thong Lo or Ekkamai where traffic is brutal, try walking a block off the main road before booking Bolt, it often drops the surge pricing significantly.

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yeah you're not wrong, grab has been a mess lately. bolt's been running a ton of promos for drivers, like lower commission rates and upfront cash bonuses for completing a certain number of rides per day. that's prob why a lot of them switched over. i've also heard grab's algorithm got tweaked to prioritize cars over bikes, which makes no sense for short trips in bangkok traffic.

fwiw i still use grab for food delivery, but for rides bolt's been way faster for me too. just double check the price before confirming, sometimes bolt's surge pricing is sneaky.

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i'm a grab driver part-time and can tell u exactly what's happening. grab raised their commission to 35% for bikes a few months back, bolt is only taking 15% right now. drivers arent stupid, we follow the money. plus bolt gives us 50 baht bonus per ride during peak hours if we maintain a 4.8 rating, grab stopped doing that.

another thing nobody mentions is grab's new rider ranking system. if you dont accept enough trips they drop your priority and you get the leftover shitty requests. so all the good drivers who were picky about distance already left for bolt where there's no penalty for declining.

for u as a passenger, try using grab's "just grab" feature instead of the regular booking. it bypasses the algorithm and directly pings nearby drivers. takes 2 extra seconds to set up in the app settings but gets u a bike in under a minute most times.

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yeah Krua Dok Mai Kao is solid but if you're up for a detour, try Som Tum Nua near Siam Square. their som tam pu pla ra is insane if you like the fermented fish sauce kick. way more pungent than the On Nut spot, just less grilled chicken options

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