Terms and conditions for Riders

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General Terms and Conditions updated: 22.01.2024.

Terms and conditions for Riders

These General Terms and Conditions contain the terms and conditions governing the use of the Bolt app, a technology that connects passengers with drivers to enable them to move around the city more efficiently. These General Terms and Conditions also contain the terms and conditions that govern the use of Bolt taxi dispatcher services. In order to use the Bolt app and Bolt Taxi Dispatch, you must agree to the terms and conditions below and Marketplace Conduct Guidelines: Riders available at: Marketplace Conduct Guidelines: Riders, which are an integral part of these General Terms and Conditions for Riders.

1. TERMS

1.1. “Bolt” means Bolt Operations OÜ, the operator of the Bolt app, a private limited liability company registered in the Republic of Estonia, company number 14532901, registered office at Vana-Lõuna tn 15, Tallinn 10134, Estonia, and any subsidiaries or affiliates of Bolt or of companies belonging to the same Bolt group of companies.

1.2. “Bolt LT” - UAB “Bolt Services LT", is a private legal entity with limited liability, established and registered under the laws of the Republic of Lithuania, company code 304960634, registered office address Geležinio Vilko g. 18A, Vilnius, Republic of Lithuania.

1.3. "Bolt LT Services" - Taxi dispatching services provided by Bolt LT, i.e. taxi order management services, whereby Rider orders are received by means of communication or telecommunication terminals, i.e. through the Bolt Call Centre or the Bolt app, for the purpose of receiving and transmitting passenger orders to Taxi companies/Taxi drivers and forwarding them to Taxi drivers.

1.4. “The Bolt app” is an application for telecommunication terminals designed for Drivers, Taxi Companies / Taxi Drivers and Riders to submit and receive requests for Carriage Services or Taxi Services.

1.5. “The Bolt Platform” is a technology that connects Riders and Drivers to help them travel more efficiently around cities.

1.6. “The Bolt Call Centre” is a call management centre for Taxi Companies / Taxi Drivers and Riders to request and receive Taxi services by making a call where available.

1.7. “Price” means the fee which the Rider undertakes to pay to the Driver for the provision of the Carriage Services and, in the case of Taxi Services, to the Taxi Company / Taxi Driver for the Taxi Services provided.

1.8. “Rider” (hereinafter referred to as “you”, “your”, “yours”) means the person requesting the Carriage Services via the Bolt Platform and/or requesting Taxi Services by using the Bolt app and / or calling the Bolt Call Centre.

1.9. “Carriage Services” means a transport service provided by the Driver to the Rider upon prior approval of the Rider's request through the Bolt app.

1.10. ”Taxi Services” means the provision by a Taxi Company / Taxi Driver of a paid passenger car taxi service, including the carriage of a Rider in a Taxi, the waiting for a Rider while the taximeter is activated, the driving of a Taxi upon request, and the waiting for a Rider.

1.11. “Taxi company” means a legal entity which, in accordance with the procedure established by law, provides Taxi services, has more than one Taxi driver who is employed or has entered into a service agreement with this legal entity, and has entered into an agreement with Bolt LT for the use of Bolt LT services.

1.12. "Taxi Driver" means a person who carries out an individual activity within the meaning of the legislation in force, as well as a person who is employed by a Taxi Company or who has entered into a service contract with a Taxi Company and who, in accordance with the provisions of the legislation in force, provides Taxi Services, and who has entered into an agreement with Bolt LT for the use of the Bolt LT Services.

1.13. “Driver” means a person providing Carriage Services through the Bolt Platform.

2. Using the Bolt app and Bolt LT services

2.1. Bolt provides you with an information society service – using the Bolt platform available through the Bolt app – but does not provide Carriage Services. The Carriage Services are provided by the Drivers under an agreement (with you) for the provision of the Carriage Services. Drivers shall provide the Carriage Services independently (in person) as providers of economic and professional services.

2.2. Bolt LT provides you with taxi dispatch services using the Bolt app, but does not provide Taxi services. Taxi services are provided by Taxi Companies and Taxi Drivers under a contract (with you) for the carriage of passengers by taxi in return for remuneration. Taxi companies / Taxi drivers provide Taxi services independently (personally or through a company), as economic and professional service providers.

2.3. Disputes arising out of consumer rights, legal obligations or laws applicable to the provision of carriage services shall be settled between the Riders and Drivers, Taxi Companies / Taxi Drivers. Data about Drivers, as well as Taxi Companies / Taxi Drivers and their Carriage or Taxi Service is provided in the Bolt app, and receipts for trips are sent to the email address specified in the Rider’s profile, or by issuing cash acceptance receipts as required by applicable legislation.

2.4. Using the Bolt platform and Bolt LT services, you can choose whether you want to pay the Driver for the Carriage Service or the Taxi Company / Taxi Driver for the Taxi Service, or pay via the Bolt app. Payments for Bolt business trips are handled under a separate agreement for business trips. Where required by applicable law, the trip price includes applicable taxes. Travel charges may include other applicable taxes, fees, and/or surcharges, including booking fees, municipal fees, airport surcharges, or processing fees for split payments.

2.5. In order to use the Bolt Platform and / or Bolt LT Services, it is necessary to install the mobile app, register a user (Rider) account and accept these terms. When installing the Bolt app, the Rider’s mobile phone number is linked to the relevant Bolt user account and added to our database. If you no longer use your mobile number, you must notify Bolt within 7 days in order for us to anonymise your account details. If you do not notify us of a change of number, your mobile operator may assign this number to another person who will be able to see your details through the Bolt app.

2.6. Rooting, jailbreaking or modifying your mobile device at a hardware or operating system level in any manner which is against the manufacturer’s instructions makes the device susceptible to mobile threats. You acknowledge that We are not liable for any losses in connection with the use of such a modified mobile device, and that We have no obligation to support the use of such a device.

2.7 You may not, and may not allow any other party to launch or cause to launch any programs or scripts for the purpose of scraping, indexing, surveying, or otherwise data mining any part of Bolt’s mobile applications and/or websites or data.

2.8. If any of the activities the passenger pursues via the Bolt Platform or if any of the information the passengers provide to Bolt and / or Bolt platform is deemed to be illegal content under applicable laws or otherwise contravenes these General Terms and Conditions, Bolt reserves the right to:

(i) remove, disable access or demote such content,

(ii) suspend, terminate or restrict any monetary payment due from Bolt to you, (iii) suspend or terminate the information society service in whole or in part, and (iv) suspend or close your Bolt account.

3. Promotional Codes

3.1. Bolt and Bolt LT may send you promotional codes. If technically feasible, promotional code credits may be applied to post-trip payments or other features or benefits associated with the service and/or third-party service. The codes may be subject to additional terms and conditions that apply to each promotional code. Promo codes will expire on the Bolt app when you assign a promo code to your account.

3.2. If the amount of your trip exceeds the exchangeable credit assigned to your trip, the balance will be automatically charged to your account's payment method. In addition, the promotional code is valid for one ride only and cannot be transferred to another ride/ trip and will be voided at a later date. Only one promotional code can be used per trip.

3.3. Bolt and Bolt LT reserve the right to cancel any promotional code at any time for any reason. This includes, but is not limited to, cases where Bolt, and/or Bolt LT believe(s) the codes are being used illegally or fraudulently, where the codes have been issued erroneously, and/or where the codes have expired.

4. Paying with the Bolt app

4.1. You can pay for the Carriage Services, as well as Taxi Services, by card, through the operator or by other payment methods, including in-app payments, which need to be activated in advance in the Bolt app. By providing the in-app payment service, Bolt acts as an agent for the Carriage Service and Bolt LT acts as an agent for the Taxi Service Providers with limited powers (as a payment agent), for the sole purpose of collecting, on behalf of the Driver or the Taxi Company / Taxi Driver (depending on which services have been booked), the Fare and other charges paid by the Rider via the app and forwarding to the Driver or the Taxi Company / Taxi Driver the relevant monies. Your obligation to the Carriage or Taxi Service Provider shall be discharged (depending on the services ordered) when a payment order to transfer funds to a Bolt or Bolt LT bank account is submitted. As a Rider, you are responsible for ensuring that payment occurs and that you have sufficient funds in your account.

4.2. If it is technically possible, you can tip the Driver or Taxi driver for a quality carriage or Taxi service. The tip will not affect the amount of the Bolt, Bolt LT Fee, while Bolt, Bolt LT will not charge the tip that the Driver or Taxi Driver receives from the Riders. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Bolt reserves the right to withhold tips if it is suspected that the payment of the tip is made fraudulently, illegally or for purposes other than in appreciation of the services rendered by the Taxi Driver, or if it is used in a manner that is contrary to the terms and conditions of Bolt, Bolt LT.

4.3. When making payments through the Bolt app, Bolt, Bolt LT receives your payments and forwards the money to the Drivers or Taxi Company / Taxi Driver, depending on the services ordered. Bolt, Bolt LT may request additional data from you to verify your payment method.

4.4. Bolt and Bolt LT are not responsible for possible third-party charges (e.g. mobile operator, bank charges) when making payments for Carriage or Taxi services via the Bolt app. These service providers may charge additional fees when processing payments through the Bolt app. Bolt and Bolt LT shall not be liable for any such charges and shall have no liability in this respect. Your payment method may also be subject to additional terms and conditions applied by a third-party payment service provider; please review these terms and conditions before selecting a payment method.

4.5. Bolt will be responsible for the functioning of payments made through the Bolt app and will provide assistance in resolving any related issues. Disputes related to payments via the Bolt app are also resolved through the involvement of Bolt LT. For payment related assistance, please contact: <a href=“mailto:vilnius@bolt.eu” rel =“nofollow”>vilnius@bolt.eu</a>. Requests submitted by e-mail or via the Bolt app will be responded to within one business day. Complaints and requests related to payments through the Bolt app will be resolved within two business days.

4.6. Trip fixed price when booking Carriage Services. A Rider may be given an option to accept a fixed fare for a particular trip during which the Carriage is provided by the Driver (i.e. a fixed fare). The fixed fare for the trip is indicated to the Rider in the Bolt app before the trip is requested. The fixed fare shall not apply if the Rider changes their destination during the journey, if the journey takes significantly longer than estimated due to traffic or other circumstances, or if there are other unforeseen circumstances that have a significant impact on the journey (such as the use of a road or route for which a toll is levied, or part of it).

4.7. Estimated fare when booking Taxi services. Before making a trip request, the Rider is informed of the estimated trip price via the Bolt app. If technically possible, a Rider who has booked a Taxi through the Bolt Call Centre may be informed of the estimated price of the trip by phone or SMS. This fare estimate is not binding on the Rider. The final fare is determined by the taximeter readings at the end of the trip.

4.8 To ensure a safe and reliable Bolt platform for everyone, We may take actions against you, such as suspending you from using the platform for 6 months, under our Marketplace Conduct Guidelines for Riders. By using Bolt app you confirm that you have read the Marketplace Conduct Guidelines for Riders and agree to comply with them.

4.9 Bolt may suggest to you a certain category of journeys in the Bolt App. The main criteria for the suggestions are price of the journey, estimated time of arrival of the vehicle and your historical category selection behaviour. You are under no obligation to order the journey from the category suggested to you by Bolt.

5. Booking and cancelling Carriage Services and Taxi Services

5.1. If you have ordered a Carriage Service and the Driver has agreed to provide the Service, then the Carriage Service shall be deemed to have been ordered. Once the Driver confirms they will complete your trip, you will enter into a separate agreement with the Driver for the requested carriage of Riders by car for remuneration, subject to terms and conditions to be agreed with the Driver. Bolt does not provide passenger carriage for remuneration via passenger cars and is not considered to be a party to your contract for the provision of these carriage services. Cancellation of a Carriage Service order is considered to be a situation where the Driver accepted your request and you subsequently rejected, cancelled or refused the Carriage Service. When a Carriage Service request is cancelled after a certain time, you are responsible for paying the cancellation fee.

5.2. If you have booked a Taxi service and the Taxi Company / Taxi Driver has agreed to perform the booking, then it is considered that the Taxi service has been booked and an agreement will be entered into between you and the Taxi Company / Taxi Driver for the taxi carriage of riders in return for remuneration. Bolt LT does not provide Taxi Services and is not considered a party to your agreement for the provision of Taxi Services. Cancellation of a taxi service order is considered to be a situation where the Taxi Company / Taxi Driver has accepted your order and you subsequently rejected, cancelled or refused the Taxi service. When a Taxi Service order is cancelled after a certain time, you must pay a cancellation fee in accordance with applicable law.

5.3. If you cancel your Carriage Service Request and/or Taxi Service Order several times within the last 24 hours, we may temporarily block your account in the Bolt app and/or not accept your orders through the Bolt Call Centre. If this situation recurs and you receive repeated alerts, we may suspend your account, including access to the Bolt Call Centre, for a longer period of time (e.g. 6 months). After this period, you may request to reactivate your account and access to the Bolt app and the Bolt Call Centre, and Bolt, Bolt LT will review your application.

5.4. When the Driver or the Taxi Company / Taxi Driver informs the Rider of the arrival of the vehicle at the specified location and the Rider or people to whom the Transportation or Taxi Service has been ordered do not arrive at the vehicle within a certain time, the Carriage Request or Taxi Reservation shall be considered cancelled. Occasionally, the Driver or Taxi Company / Taxi Driver may decide to cancel your request or reservation. Please note that neither Bolt nor Bolt LT are responsible for such situations.

5.5. When the Driver arrives after your request for Carriage services and sends you a notification that they have arrived, the Bolt app may start charging for the waiting time at the rates indicated in the Bolt app. When a Taxi driver arrives after your request for a Taxi service and sends you a notice that they have arrived, a fee may be charged for waiting for the Rider in accordance with the statutory taxi rates.

6. Permission to use the Bolt app

6.1. As long as you comply with these General Terms and Conditions, you are granted a free, revocable, non-exclusive right to access and use the Bolt app in accordance with these General Terms and Conditions, the Privacy Notice and the applicable app store terms. You may not assign or sub-license this right to use the Bolt app. In the event that your access to the Bolt app is revoked, the corresponding non-exclusive licence will also be revoked.

7. Liability

7.1. As the Bolt Platform is an information society service between Riders and Drivers, we cannot guarantee or accept any liability for the quality or absence of defects in the provision of the Carriage services. As the use of the Bolt app to request a Carriage service is subject to the conduct of the Drivers, Bolt does not guarantee or accept responsibility for the fact that you will always receive offers for the provision of the Carriage service. The Bolt app does not offer or broker Carriage for Riders, nor is it a transport agency service for finding Riders for Carriage providers. The Bolt app is used as a tool to organise the provision of Carriage services.

7.2. As Bolt LT only provides taxi dispatch services, we cannot guarantee or accept any liability for the quality or absence of defects in the provision of Taxi services. As the use of the Bolt app and the Bolt Call Centre for ordering Taxi services is subject to the conduct of Taxi Companies / Taxi Drivers, Bolt LT and Bolt do not guarantee or accept responsibility for the fact that Taxi Companies / Taxi Drivers will not always accept your Taxi request. The Bolt app and the Bolt Call Centre are used as a means to receive Rider requests from Taxi Companies / Taxi Drivers via communications and telecommunication terminals and to pass them on to Taxi Drivers as required by the applicable law.

7.3. Bolt app requests and Bolt Call Centre bookings are not subject to the user's right to a refund. A refund request for the Carriage and / or Taxi services does not cancel the contract under which the Carriage and / or Taxi service was ordered.

7.4. The Bolt app and the Bolt Call Centre work on the basis of actual capabilities. Bolt and Bolt LT do not represent, warrant or guarantee that the Bolt app or Bolt Call Centre will be uninterrupted and error-free. In the event of software and/or other equipment malfunctions, we will endeavour to rectify them as soon as possible, but please be aware that the Bolt app and/or Bolt Call Centre may be restricted due to accidental technical errors and we cannot guarantee that the Bolt app and/or Bolt Call Centre will always work, for example, in case of service interruption in an emergency.

7.5. Bolt and Bolt LT, their representatives, directors and employees shall not be liable for any loss or damage that you may suffer as a result of using the Bolt app and/or the Bolt Call Centre and/or in connection with a trip that has been booked through the Bolt app or the Bolt Call Centre, including but not limited to: 7.5.1. any direct or indirect damage to property or financial loss; 7.5.2. loss of profits, business, contracts, contacts, goodwill, reputation and/or other losses which may arise from the interruption of business, loss of data or inaccuracy; 7.5.3. inaccuracy or loss of data; 7.5.4. loss or damage of any other kind.

7.6. The financial liability of Bolt, as well as Bolt LT, in connection with a breach of these General Terms and Conditions, will be limited to the amount of €500 (five hundred euros). You will only be entitled to claim damages if Bolt and/or Bolt LT intentionally violate these General Terms and Conditions. Bolt and Bolt LT will not be liable for the acts / omissions of the Driver, the Taxi Company / the Taxi Driver, nor for the damage caused by the latter to Riders.

7.7. You agree to indemnify Bolt and Bolt LT, their agents, employees and directors in full (including liabilities, damages, costs and expenses of any kind) arising out of your use of the Bolt app and / or the Bolt Call Centre (including rides booked through the Bolt app and/or the Bolt Call Centre).

7.8. Bolt may terminate your use of the Bolt app with immediate effect if you violate these General Terms and Conditions or if we deem it necessary in order to protect the integrity of Bolt, Bolt LT, their business partners or the safety of Drivers, as well as that of Taxi Companies / Taxi Drivers.

7.9 Bolt is entitled to suspend, for a reasonable period of time and after having issued a prior warning, the processing of notices and complaints submitted through the Internal Complaint-Handling System by the passengers and drivers that frequently submit notices or complaints that are manifestly unfounded. While assessing the circumstances for the suspension, Bolt considers the following:

(a) the absolute numbers of items of manifestly illegal content or manifestly unfounded notices or complaints, submitted within a month; and

(b) the relative proportion of notices and complaints in relation to the total number of items of information provided or notices submitted within a month; and

(d) (if applicable) the intention of the complainant for submitting manifestly unfounded complaints.

8. Good practice in using Bolt services

8.1. Since neither Bolt nor Bolt LT is a Carriage or Taxi Service Provider, all problems regarding the defects or quality of the Carriage and/or Taxi services shall be resolved in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation regulating the relations between rider-requested carriage via taxi in return for remuneration.

8.2. We ask you to fill out the feedback form in the Bolt app. This allows us to make suggestions to Drivers and Taxi Companies / Taxi Drivers so that they can improve the quality of their services.

8.3. We expect you to use the Bolt app and the Bolt Call Centre in good faith and respect the Drivers and Taxi Companies / Taxi Drivers who offer their services through the Bolt app and the Bolt Call Centre. Bolt and Bolt LT reserve the right to close your account if you violate the terms and conditions contained in these General Terms and Conditions or if your activity is malicious, such as withholding payment for Carriage and/or Taxi services, and/or cheating or disrespecting Drivers, Taxi Drivers, etc. In such cases, your Bolt app account may be deleted / blocked without prior notice.

8.4. We will make every effort to ensure that only Drivers and Taxi Companies / Taxi Drivers who are honest, respect their profession and the Riders, and meet the legal requirements for them and their activities use the Bolt app and the Bolt Call Centre. However, we cannot guarantee that every Carriage and Taxi service provider using the Bolt app and the Bolt Call Centre will always meet the above criteria. If you encounter unwanted Carriage and/or Taxi services, please let us or our customer service department know.

8.5. We expect that you use the Bolt app in good faith and be respectful of the drivers who offer their services through the Bolt app. In addition to any other rights we may have to take actions against you under these General Terms and Conditions and our Marketplace Guidelines for Riders, Bolt retains the right to close your account if you have violated the terms set out in this General Terms and Conditions or if your activities are malicious, i.e. withholding payment for the provision of the transport service, fraud, being disrespectful towards the drivers, etc. In these cases, your Bolt app account may be revoked without prior notice.

8.6. To ensure safety of the Bolt platform for all users, Bolt may ask the rider to verify their identity. If Bolt will not be able to verify the identity of the rider, the Bolt service may be suspended for the rider until the verification process is completed.

9. Amendments to the General Terms and Conditions

9.1. If any significant changes are made to the General Terms and Conditions, you will be notified by e-mail or Bolt app notifications. Your continued use of the Bolt app will mean that you agree to the changes.

10. Final provisions

10.1. The General Terms and Conditions governing the use of the Bolt platform will be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Estonia. If the relevant dispute arising from these General Terms and Conditions cannot be settled by negotiation, then the dispute will be settled in the Harju District Court in Tallinn, Estonia.

10.2. The General Terms and Conditions governing the use of the Bolt LT services will be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Lithuania. If the relevant dispute arising from the General Conditions cannot be resolved by negotiation, then the dispute will be resolved in the District Court of Vilnius City or in the Vilnius Regional Court, depending on the nature of the dispute.

10.3. If any provision of the General Terms and Conditions is deemed to be unenforceable, the Parties will replace the relevant provision with an enforceable one that is as similar as possible to the purpose and economic effect of the affected provision. If one of the provisions of these General Terms and Conditions is or becomes invalid, the invalidity of this provision shall not affect the validity of the other provisions.