Nov 26, 2024
Since 2021, we’ve published an annual report highlighting the latest advancements in making shared mobility services safer for riders and non-riders. This year, we’re thrilled to showcase the progress in providing safe, reliable transport across our 250 cities.
Since launching Bolt’s micromobility service, safety has remained our highest priority. Every decision, from new hardware design to in-app features, is made with user well-being and cities’ needs in mind.
Through our Safety Pledge, we are committed to actively supporting cities’ efforts to achieve Vision Zero — eliminating all traffic fatalities and severe injuries. The Pledge was developed around the most pressing scooter safety issues and includes 9 focus areas:
We pledge to work in mutual partnership with cities through transparent 2-way dialogue to understand the challenges and concerns related to scooter safety, share learnings and best practices, and identify and implement solutions together.
We pledge to offer riders educational materials in person, through our app, website, and public campaigns, providing them with the knowledge they need to keep themselves and other road users safe.
We pledge to only put safe scooters on the road by exceeding EU-wide vehicle standards, placing responsible limits on scooter speeds, conducting inspections weekly at a minimum, and immediately removing from circulation all scooters that require maintenance.
We pledge to combat intoxicated scooter riding through various initiatives that provide deterrence, disincentives, and education.
We pledge to work in partnership with cities to develop and implement location-specific parking rules and automated solutions to deter improper scooter parking and educate users on parking appropriately.
We pledge to collaborate with organisations representing disadvantaged groups and cities to identify and implement solutions that protect vulnerable people from dangerous scooter riding and improper parking.
We pledge to continually refine our safety data collection methods using all available tools while also improving data transparency so that cities and the public can have an evidence-based understanding of scooter safety metrics.
We pledge to implement procedures that minimise the safety risks faced by our staff and the local communities where we operate warehouses, focusing on safely managing scooter batteries.
We pledge to prioritise the safety of our riders and other road users in all aspects of our work, continually evaluate our performance, identify areas of strength and weakness, and take action to address any gaps.
To continue leading the charge in micromobility safety, we remain transparent about our efforts, helping cities understand the key safety challenges related to shared micromobility and fostering a safer environment for all road users.
The rest of the 2024 Bolt Micromobility Safety Report highlights our progress in 2023 and what we’re working on next.
Our Safety Pledge consists of 9 safety principles that articulate how we support city efforts to achieve Vision Zero — the elimination of all traffic fatalities and severe injuries.
Through 2023, we saw major progress in reducing the rate of major injuries (defined as injuries requiring professional medical attention like an ambulance or hospital visit) on both Bolt scooters and e-bikes.
| Scooters | ||||
| Injuries per 1 million rides | Injuries per 1 million km ridden | Severe injuries per 1 million rides | Severe injuries per 1 million km ridden | |
| 2022 | 18.1 | 11.3 | 8.9 | 5.5 |
| 2023 | 16.0 | 10.5 | 5.3 | 3.5 |
| % change | -11.51% | -6.62% | -40.72% | -37.44% |
| E-bikes | ||||
| Injuries per 1 million rides | Injuries per 1 million km ridden | Severe injuries per 1 million rides | Severe injuries per 1 million km ridden | |
| 2022 | 26.1 | 11.8 | 10.1 | 4.6 |
| 2023 | 20.7 | 9.0 | 7.0 | 3.0 |
| % change | -20.42% | -24.16% | -30.45% | -33.72% |
From 2022 to 2023, severe injuries per 1 million km ridden decreased from 5.5 to 3.5 for scooters and from 4.6 to 3.0 for e-bikes.
The improvements we have made to our micromobility services are grounded in our proactive approach to safety. Our commitment is centred around three key pillars.
To further enhance our approach, we convened the Bolt Micromobility Safety Committee, an international group of traffic safety experts that meets twice per year to provide ongoing feedback on our safety initiatives. The committee highlights our areas of strength and areas for continued improvement.
By working with a diverse team of external experts, we’re continually building upon our understanding of micromobility safety through exchanging knowledge, best practices, and recommendations.
The smarter our micromobility vehicles, the safer the streets. From preventing dangerous riding to making sure that every vehicle is in top shape, our engineers have packed Bolt scooters and e-bikes with intelligent software that ensures our service is as safe as possible for riders and pedestrians.
Backed by data from hundreds of millions of rides in over 250 European cities, our technology tackles everything from preventing dangerous behaviour like tandem riding or skidding to automatically scheduling scooter maintenance, ensuring a seamless and secure experience for all.
Let’s take a closer look at the impact our software has in real-world scenarios.
In November 2023, we began to roll out distance-based pricing, which reverses the current industry standard of charging users based on the duration of their trips.
Charging based on duration can incentivise users to reach their destinations as quickly as possible, potentially leading to speeding and other risky riding behaviours, including ignoring traffic lights and swerving between pedestrians.
Based on ongoing testing in Brussels, we’ve observed a 9% reduction in the average ride speed for users charged by distance compared to time-based pricing.
“Charging riders of mobility services based on distance rather than time is an important step to prioritise safety over speed because it eliminates the financial incentive for people to use transport in risky or dangerous ways to reach their destinations as quickly as possible.”
María Seguí-Gómez, Former Director-General of Traffic, Spanish Ministry of Interior
What used to be the Reckless Rider Score has now become the Good Rider Score. The renaming is intentional, as 98% of our scooter and e-bike users ride responsibly, and only 2% demonstrate consistently poor riding and parking practices. Thus, naming the feature after a small minority seemed unfair to the prevailing good riders.
Poor riding includes:
Incorrect parking includes:
To improve the behaviour of the 2%, we’ve continued expanding the deployment of the Good Rider Score feature, which identifies reckless riders based on riding habits and applies an escalating set of penalties.
The impact has been significant:
Throughout 2023, we continued implementing our patent pending Tandem Riding Prevention System, which uses onboard sensors to detect and deter users from riding with multiple occupants on a single scooter.
By sending push notifications in real time, we warn users that tandem riding poses a danger to riders and pedestrians and that it may lead to further penalties based on our Good Rider Score feature. When the feature was launched, we saw a nearly 20% reduction in tandem riding over 5 months.
Riding a scooter or e-bike while intoxicated is a significant safety risk for both riders and pedestrians. To address this, the Bolt app alerts users to potential risks during times when intoxication is more common, such as nights and weekends.
If the user confirms that they’re sober, the app displays a cognitive reaction test to verify if the user is ready to ride safely. If a user fails the test, we encourage them to request a Bolt ride instead of taking a scooter or e-bike.
Throughout 2023, we conducted over 5.4 million tests globally.
Since 2022, Bolt has partnered with RTB, a leading provider of acoustic technology for people with visual impairments, to integrate Bolt scooters into their LOC.id app.
The LOC.id solution is a Bluetooth-based system that communicates with external objects such as traffic lights, building entrances, public transport vehicles, roadworks sites, and now, Bolt scooters. When the user approaches an object equipped with a LOC.id receiver, the object is recognised, and either the object or the user’s phone emits an audible signal or starts voice-controlled guidance to help the user navigate safely.
In 2023, we expanded Bolt’s LOC.id integration to 17 cities throughout Germany, making it available on more than 22,500 vehicles.
“Since May 2023, Bolt’s been using LOC.id technology in Düsseldorf to warn blind and visually impaired people of parked scooters in Düsseldorf. We welcome the use of forward-looking technologies to improve road safety and ensure light electric vehicles are compatible with the city.”
Robin Bröchler, Düsseldorf Office of Traffic Management
Bolt’s predictive maintenance process uses the Advanced Mobility Intelligence System (AMIS) in our scooters and e-bikes to anticipate vehicle maintenance needs before they occur. For example, the system can determine which vehicles have experienced the most sudden braking incidents and are, therefore, more likely to experience brake failure in the near future.
These vehicles are then automatically prioritised for collection, inspection, and pre-emptive repair by a Bolt mechanic. This proactive approach is safer than conducting repairs after a scooter has already broken down and ensures a higher number of scooters available for use on the street.
Implementing this process has shown excellent results: on average, only 1.2% of monthly rides ended with user reports of a Bolt vehicle requiring maintenance.
The most effective way to enforce correct parking is to verify it in real time before a ride ends. Our ParkAssist+ feature requires users to submit a photo of their parked scooter at the end of their ride.
Our AI system, which was trained on over 150,000 photos of properly and improperly parked scooters, then validates the photo to ensure that the scooter is properly parked.
In September 2023, Bureau Veritas auditors assessed the level of parking compliance of Bolt scooters on the Place Eugénie Flagey in Brussels, where micromobility parking causes the most issues. The auditors found that with the help of ParkAssist+, Bolt users parked scooters correctly 97.2% of the time.
Last year’s report gave a sneak peek of our newest scooter model, the Bolt 6, developed based on cities’ feedback and with user comfort in mind.
This year, we’re excited to dive deeper into the Bolt 6’s safety features and also introduce our e-bikes, which are now expanding their reach to more than 40 cities across Europe, bridging the gap between trips that might be too long for a scooter or too short for ride-hailing.
This consists of hundreds of sensors collecting data in real time, which enables our wide range of safe software features.
Internal brake cables cannot be cut, preventing vandalism and brake failure.
Front and rear brakes guarantee responsive and safe braking, while regenerative brakes prevent overspeeding when moving downhill.
Improved wrist and hand posture enhances comfort and steering responsiveness.
Users can always see their speed, geofencing information, and the scooter’s battery level.
Riders can notify others of manoeuvres, preventing collisions.
Users can smoothly navigate over small obstacles and road imperfections.
The large pneumatic tyre enhances shock absorption and maximises traction in all conditions.
The widest floorboard in the industry ensures the highest degree of stability during rides.
The industry’s widest kickstand keeps parked scooters upright in any weather conditions.
Enhanced rider stability and minimised risk of theft or vandalism.
Over 4,800 Bolt scooter users in Lisbon, Tallinn, and Riga — of all ages, genders, and body types — shared their first thoughts about the Bolt 6. Reviews were gathered anonymously, and personal data was kept protected and safe.
84% of riders surveyed praised the Bolt 6 for its smooth riding experience, easy manoeuvrability, and ergonomic design.
Research shows that a lack of shared micromobility experience is a key driver of scooter and e-bike accidents. That’s why we’ve implemented various educational initiatives to ensure users have the knowledge and skills to ride safely.
These include digital features such as our in-app education, the Bolt Rider Academy knowledge test, and in-person training sessions that we conduct in cities across Europe.
Every time a new user registers to ride Bolt scooters and e-bikes, we show them educational materials on riding safely and parking responsibly.
In cases where users face a penalty based on their Good Rider Score, we ask them to pass the Bolt Rider Academy knowledge test to ensure they have understood the educational materials.
While the penalty system alone has proven to reduce reckless riding by over 20%, we’ve found that users who pass the Bolt Rider Academy test demonstrate an additional 9% reduction in reckless riding.
While learning about safe scooter and e-bike riding is important, there’s no substitute for gaining hands-on experience behind the handlebars.
In cities across Europe, we provide users with opportunities to gain this valuable experience in a safe, controlled environment, so they feel comfortable riding in the city.
These events are often held in partnership with city authorities and feature initiatives such as free helmet giveaways or helmet customisation stations.
As our latest scooter model, Bolt 6, is gradually rolled out, we’ll continue to improve the safety features we’ve introduced while developing new ones to make the most of our advanced vehicle technologies.
However, we need feedback to drive safety improvement. And we’re eager to continue our close collaboration with cities. Through this mutual dialogue, we can best identify how Bolt and cities may each take meaningful actions that improve safety for all.
Focusing on micromobility alone misses the point when considering transport safety in cities. Infrastructure that’s not fit for purpose to be shared by private cars and other transport methods, including micromobility, can pose the greatest threat to road users in cities.
The Bolt Micromobility Safety Committee will continue providing feedback on our safety initiatives. And with guidance from this team of external experts, we’ll continue our relentless pursuit of safety and Vision Zero.
