Bolt has announced that it has surpassed 400 million trips in South Africa, covering a total distance of 2 billion kilometres. It presently has over 40,000 driver partners spread out over more than 23 cities in South Africa and is always looking for new ways for those drivers to continue earning money.
Bolt, the most prominent on-demand mobility platform in Africa, recently celebrated its tenth birthday worldwide and its seventh anniversary of operations in South Africa, where it was first introduced in 2016.
By The Numbers Bolt has announced that it has reached more than 400 million trips in South Africa, covering a total distance of 2 billion kilometres.
It presently has over 40,000 driver partners spread out over more than 23 cities in South Africa and is always looking for new ways for those drivers to continue earning money.
Read also: South Africa bans Uber, Bolt drivers from Soweto Malls
The process of Bolt
Bolt was the first company to market a ride-hailing service specifically geared towards women in the year 2020. This service connects female passengers with female drivers through the Bolt platform. As a direct response to the demand voiced by female passengers for a women-only category, this category was established with the intention of making travel throughout the various cities in South Africa far less dangerous for women.
After seeing positive traction with the value proposition in Cape Town, the ride-hailing company launched Bolt Food in April 2020 using its footprint in the ride-hailing vertical and strong, mutually beneficial partnerships with restaurants. In 2021, the company will launch Bolt Food across Johannesburg, following positive traction with the value proposition in Cape Town.
To this day, Bolt has over 2,000 active eateries on the network, and earlier this year, we launched our nationwide collaboration with KFC.
Bolt most recently unlocked a new ride category called Bolt Lite in collaboration with the Gauteng Department of Economic Development and through its strategic collaborations with fleet partner My Next Car. This ride category is served entirely by Bajaj Qute vehicles, which are tiny and fuel-efficient for short trips, and are intended for use on shorter distances.
Remarks
Regional Manager, East and Southern Africa, Takura Malaba said: “We started seven years ago with a mission to help people move around their cities in the different parts of South Africa. Since then, we’ve expanded from just one ride category to include Bolt Lite, Bolt Premium, and Bolt XL, as well as our Go Sedan and Go Hatch, ensuring that we meet every passenger’s needs.”
“We have also diversified operations to include Food delivery services to meet the growing demand for convenient services in the Food delivery sector. Our numbers have grown, and we continue to witness tremendous growth and increased demand for quality services in the ride-hailing sector. It has been an exciting journey, and we could not have done this without our driver-partners, loyal passengers and restaurant partners.”
Bolt supports a safe, sustainable environment
Innovative safety elements, such as the company’s proprietary tandem riding prevention system and a cognitive reaction test, contribute to the prevention of riding under the influence of alcohol or other substances and promote awareness of the dangers associated with doing so.
Bolt encourages people to use electric vehicles in a sensible manner so that riders and the general public can remain safe. Riders have access to a Beginner Mode, information on local regulations, and safety instructions and recommendations through the Safety Toolkit provided by this company.
Bolt teaches users to park appropriately and urge them to report any instances of irresponsible parking that they encounter on the streets. In addition, their artificial intelligence system can identify illegal parking and instruct passengers on how to park their scooters in a secure manner.
The Environmental Policy that they have is an integral aspect of the ongoing effort to lessen the impact that their products have on the environment. Maintaining a sustainable operation Their operations are powered by environmentally responsible practises.
Just two instances of this would be the usage of electric vehicles for the company’s internal operations and the use of renewable energy sources in the company’s warehouses and offices. They are dedicated to balancing our CO2 emissions and delivering environmentally friendly mobility solutions to cities.
With the most stringent requirements for the environment the company is pleased to announce that it has earned the ISO 14001:2015 certification. Bolt is dedicated to improving their environmental management system and implementing efficient methods that will reduce the amount of damage they cause to the surrounding environment.
By encouraging the adoption of more environmentally friendly ways, they are actively working to reduce the number of short car trips that people take in cities. They also encourage users to select these modes by providing in-app messages and discounts, which has led to an increase of up to 200% in the utilisation of electric scooters.
