Bolt Nigeria: We Offer Emotional, Practical Support Whenever Our Drivers Hurt Riders

Popular ride-hailing app, Bolt, has responded to the deluge of complaints and negative reviews it has been getting from its Nigerian customers on social media in recent times.

Some of the complaints border on misconduct, near kidnap cases, robbery, and other negative ordeals experienced at the hands of Bolt drivers by riders.

Another common complaint is the situation when different drivers arrive in cars different from the one requested via the Bolt app by riders.

In an interview with THE WHISTLER, Bolt’s West Africa Regional Manager, Uche Okafor, said the company frowns on all forms of criminality and violence by drivers on the app.

“Bolt condemns any form of criminality and acts of violence directed towards passengers, unwavering in our belief that every person has the right to move around without risk of harm, intimidation or coercion, or fear of death or injury,” he said.

While some customers have accused the company of turning deaf ears to their complaints, Okafor said riders are always advised to lodge such complaints via their app or email rather than taking them to social media.

He also disclosed that Bolt offers support to its customers when such cases are reported through the app or its official email.

“When a safety incident is reported through the app or via email to [email protected] our Safety Team acts immediately to find out more from the passenger and to offer practical and emotional support.

“Once a case number is provided, Bolt provides any information we can to support the police investigation,” he said.

Okafor further stated that drivers who are reported are suspended from the platform pending a formal investigation by the police.

“Drivers are suspended from the platform if they are reported for a safety infringement, and may not use the platform while they are being investigated by the police. If they are found guilty of a crime, they are permanently blocked from operating on the platform,” he said.

Okafor also disclosed that Bolt is planning to test a security feature called the “Selfie-Authentication Process” in the coming months.

“We are evaluating and monitoring the incorporation of a Selfie-Authentication Process for drivers and riders in the next couple of months as a preventive measure to the concerns raised,” he said.

COMPLAINTS BY BOLT USERS

Recently, one Twitter user, @_kimaura narrated how she was robbed by her Bolt driver and an accomplice in the Ikoyi area of Lagos state, on the 16th of March 2022.

“So, guys, I got robbed on Wednesday night at Ikoyi by my Bolt driver, he took my phone, my cards, my ID, all my money and savings.

“Let me tell you how it happened. I ordered a bolt ride going to lekki, after I got into the ride which was a heavily tinted car and we started the trip, the driver started trying to make conversation with me, he kept asking me questions about myself and where I’m from, it turned out that we were from the same state according to him, he even started speaking Igbo with me in my dialect,” she said.

Afterward, she narrated how he asked her if he could pick up something from his brother, and before she could give her consent, he stopped the car, let someone into the passenger seat, and sped on.

“At this point, I was scared and confused, the driver then started saying he wanted to advise me because I’m his sister saying next time, I shouldn’t enter a stranger’s car, I was still confused, that was when he asked the guy in the passenger seat to slap me.

“Guys!! They slapped the living daylight out of me! The guy took everything I had on me, my cards, my ID card, my atm pins, my mobile app pins. He transferred all the money in my accounts, including my savings to one of my cards, my phone, and my bag, he then brought out a knife threatening to use it on me if I didn’t do as they asked, I was scared shitless,” she recounted.

She further said the driver then told her that she was lucky he didn’t “use” her like he had intended because they were from the same state. She said the whole time this was happening, he was driving round Ikoyi but after taking all they wanted from her, he stopped close to Obalende, gave her N1,000 for transport, claiming he didn’t want her stranded because she was from his state, and then pushed her out of the car.

Another Twitter user, @Cameraperfect_ posted a picture inside a bolt ride on March 31, 2022, which showed both interior door handles were completely broken, hence riders cannot open the doors in the case of an emergency.

Another user, @baaba_abrah recounted how the driver who arrived to pick her when she ordered the Bolt trip was different from the one who was pictured in the driver description on the app.

“I asked, ‘please, is this you?’ showing him the picture. This driver lied and said yes. I looked at the picture again, ‘but this doesn’t look like you’ then he said ‘oh yeah my friend registered with my car’.

“I just listened to my instinct and told him I wasn’t comfortable. He said ‘oh but it’s the same car’ and I said ‘oh no but it’s not you so I’m so sorry but I’d have to cancel’. He said ‘oh okay cancel then’ but this driver stayed there,” she said.

She said the driver didn’t leave the spot for about five minutes and she had no idea what he was waiting for.

“Only God knows what he was waiting for. It wasn’t as if he got another order. He was just there. I pray he doesn’t harm anyone who picks that car. Please be safe out there and check the details very well before you sit in a car,” she concluded.

Twitter user, @CeratheCera, explained how she avoided getting into a Bolt ride she had ordered after the driver arrived with someone else in the car.

“The weirdest thing just happened. Imagine this Bolt driver had another person in his car and he asked me to come in so he’d drop the person at the next bus stop. Haaaa, I’d rather be late to work than become late in life,” she said.

Bolt had responded to a few of the complaints on Twitter, directing the customers to email them directly for more details to enable them to investigate their complaints. They however didn’t respond to all the complaints.

Bolt first came to Nigeria in 2016, launching its services in Lagos before it branched out to other states. It currently operates in over 25 states and has more than 35,000 active drivers in Nigeria.