26 Feb 2022
South Africa, February 26.02.2022: Bolt is aware of the issues raised by passengers and our social media community related to safety incidents in the last couple of days. We are deeply concerned and agonised about these incidents of alleged assaults and sexual offences against girls and women. We would like to reiterate our commitment to safety on our platform and that Bolt condemns any violence, intimidation, or extortion directed towards passengers.
At Bolt, the safety of all passengers is our highest priority. Our standard practice calls on us to apply rigorous safety procedures and uphold the highest, safest standard practices and actions.
Any security-related reports are immediately flagged and attended to by the Safety Team, who are responsible for investigating the complaint and ensuring the right action is taken. Our policy is to take proactive steps such as blocking the driver from the platform and conducting a thorough internal investigation to consider past journeys and historical ratings. We have engaged with the passengers directly, and continue to provide all the necessary support that they may require. We will provide all the information and assistance required by SAPS, as we have always done, so that they have all that they need to investigate cases fully, before forwarding cases where they have evidence of wrongdoing to the NPA for prosecution and trial.
We’ve purposefully ensured that our safety features are easily accessible from the app’s home screen on the platform to improve the safety and well-being of passengers during a Bolt trip. This includes a partnership with Namola via an in-app integrated SOS emergency button that shares the driver’s details and location with Namola’s 24/7 call centre and then deploys private security and emergency services immediately. We continue to improve and to consider appropriate steps to monitor and assess the experience of passengers. If you are unaware of our safety features, please read more about them on our safety site and give us feedback as this helps us continue to improve our safety features based on our community’s needs.
Bolt Trip Insurance offers trauma counselling for affected passengers. This insurance covers passengers and drivers for any injuries sustained while on a trip and has been activated to contribute towards the medical bills arising out of safety-related incidents too. If you have been on a trip that has resulted in you needing access to this insurance please contact southafrica@bolt.eu.
We would like to assure you that we will continue to listen to you and engage passengers about their trip experiences. Together, we will work with all our stakeholders on tangible safety and security solutions.
We believe our passengers deserve a safe and reliable means of transportation, and we continue to work earnestly to meet the highest standards on the Bolt platform. We really encourage passengers to provide feedback on drivers and their whole experience. It’ll benefit the entire ride-hailing community and allow us to address issues, urgently.
