BOTSWANA – Bolt, the Estonian-based ride-hailing firm, has introduced its services in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, pitting it against the only other car-booking service in the city, inDrive.
As part of the service rollout, Bolt is waiving its normally 15-20% commission fee for drivers for six months, already onboarding 100 drivers.
The launch in Botswana signifies Bolt’s continued expansion in Southern Africa, having recently introduced its platform in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Namibia within the previous half-year. Since its first debut in South Africa in 2016, Bolt has now established its presence in 14 African countries.
Laurent Koerge, Bolt’s head of expansion, expressed excitement over launching the services in Botswana. He added that the company’s objective is to boost its drivers’ income while ensuring competitive pricing to sustain high demand.
Earlier in 2023, Bolt unveiled plans to inject over €500 million (US$540.68m) into the African market, aiming to create jobs for over 300,000 driver partners. Globally, Bolt operates in 45 countries, servicing more than 150 million customers, and partners with over 3 million drivers.
Although there’s high potential for growth in Botswana’s ride-hailing market, it’s also fraught with challenges as inDrive, the first platform in the country, has discovered. Since its launch five years ago, inDrive has faced numerous problems, including allegations of driver malfeasance and resistance from public transportation operators despite its popularity.
To overcome these issues, Bolt has incorporated features such as an emergency SOS button enabling instant police contact, a function that ensures particular drivers and riders are never paired, and a ride-sharing function displaying real-time journey information. Furthermore, Bolt insists that its drivers possess all necessary local licenses.
Meanwhile, in South Africa, Bolt has initiated a series of driver engagement sessions to directly support drivers and address issues related to their application that may limit their earning potential. As per the announcement, these sessions will be conducted throughout the local cities where the e-hailing service operates.
Bolt acknowledges the necessity of creating a supportive and favourable environment for its driver-partners. It is devoted to actively interacting with them to comprehend their requirements and hurdles.
These engagement sessions act as a platform where drivers can express their worries, receive customized assistance, and access beneficial online resources to improve their experience with the platform.
This initiative comes in the wake of the opening of a walk-in driver engagement centre by Bolt in Randburg, Johannesburg, in October. The intention was to improve its relationship with drivers and to address their inquiries and concerns more effectively.
Previously, most communications between Bolt and its drivers occurred within the app or via a call center. However, the company is excited to launch these new engagement sessions as a sign of their continued commitment to supporting their driver-partners, states Sandra Suzanne Buyole, PR Manager for Africa at Bolt.
Over the years, South African e-hailing drivers and operators have staged protests demanding improved working conditions, safety measures, and wages in the industry. They also decried the lack of efficient communication channels between themselves, e-hailing companies, and the transport department.
During these new sessions, Bolt plans to offer various key program initiatives including app-related training and support, free criminal record checks, complimentary doctor services for obtaining professional driving permit (PDP) medical certificates, free car inspections by Dekra Automotive, and a professional driving permit booking service.
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