How to become a Bolt driver in South Africa?

10 Jan 2019

No schedule, no boss and great earnings! Are you looking to fund your studies, flexibility to provide as well as look after your family, looking to build your own business or just love meeting new people? Whether you are picking up just a few rides on a weekly basis or want to be a full-time driver, we want to partner up with you!

Become a driver in just a few days

To get started, here are a few things that you require to become a Bolt driver:

  • have a vehicle or vehicle details and contact details of a partner on the platform with a car
  • valid driver’s license (more info here)
  • Motor Vehicle License Disc with Operating Card (Double disc)
  • a professional driving permit (PrDP) service provider card (more info here)
  • Vehicle Certificate of Registration (COR – more info here)
  • Vehicle Inspection report TRA (more info here)
  • A vehicle year model 2013 and above (depending on the city you operate in), 4 doors, luggage capacity 350L, AC
  • Clean criminal record
  • Smartphone (Android device Operating System (OS) 6 & Apple iOS 8 and newer)

Once all of the above is obtained, then all it takes to join is signing up. During the signup process also add your vehicle documents to the online registration form this will speed up your application and reduce your waiting time. After registering your details (which takes more or less 5 minutes), you will receive an email with all the necessary information about the upcoming training and how to sign up.

Training is done remotely so you can go through the training from the comforts of your own home – then you would just need to pass a quick 10-minute test. Don’t worry, you’ll get all the answers from the video training and our special team members for remote training will assist you with the rest of the process.

After passing your training, a car check-up by Bolt team members for vehicles built before 2013 is necessary. This way we can make sure that it meets our vehicle requirements.

It usually takes from 1-3 days to get your account ready so you can hit the streets in no time!

Download Bolt Driver app and pick up your first passenger

First, you will need to download the Bolt Driver app on your smart device (AndroidiOS). To start using the app, log in with your chosen username and password. You will receive your login details directly to your email after your driver application has been approved.

Using the app is easy:

 

  • Swipe right to go online and set your driving radius
  • When you get a ride request, you will instantly see the pickup address, the distance to the passenger and the estimated time of arrival
  • Swipe right to accept the request – you have 20 seconds to do so
  • When you have reached the pickup point, swipe right to notify the passenger that you have arrived

If your rider is not with you 4-5 minutes after reaching their pickup point, call them. You can find the option to call the passenger when you click on the three stripes in the upper right corner. If they don’t pick up, you can cancel the ride after 5 minutes. While this scenario of a rider not showing up is more the exception than the rule, your activity score won’t be affected if you mark “client did not show” as the reason for cancellation.

When you reach the set destination, swipe right to end the ride and wish your passenger a good day. Politeness is key in keeping your riders happy and ratings high. You can read more about improving your ratings here.

How will you get paid?

There are two ways how the customers pay for a ride on the Bolt platform – in cash or via Bolt in-app payment (Also known as card payments). A payment cycle runs from Monday 00:00 to the following Sunday at 23:59. Balance statements will be issued thereafter.

If you are due to receive a payout, we will send the funds out during the first half of the week. Depending on your bank’s processing time, the funds should take between 1-2 business days to reflect in your account.

What about the costs?

No monthly or hidden fees – the average commission on drives is 23%, which includes 3% in VAT which gets paid to SARS. If you want to get more detailed information, please contact us: supplyjhb@bolt.eu.

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