Bolt Expands Reach With Launch Harare, Zimbabwe

Mobility leader Bolt offering mobility services across Europe and Africa announces the pilot of its service in Harare, Zimbabwe today with more than 300 drivers ready to start accepting hire services. Zimbabwe will be the third country for Bolt in Southern Africa. Bolt’s entry into Zimbabwe marks its Southern African expansion, following its recent pilot in Zambia and successful operations in South Africa. Offering ride-hailing for both individual and Bolt Business for corporate needs, Bolt’s foray into Zimbabwe underscores its commitment to advancing mobility in the region.

Bolt is a free mobile application that connects drivers and customers. Bolt allows customers to conveniently request a driver to pick them wherever they are and take them where they want to go in a quick, reliable and affordable way. Drivers registered to the platform can earn money by accepting hire services through the application. In order to become a partner Bolt driver, a person has to have a car or motorbike and all necessary licences required by the local regulations. Bolt brings benefits for the wider community as well. By introducing new shared mobility options, Bolt helps cities reduce congestion, allowing people to reach their destinations quicker and simpler.

The company has been built around offering the lowest commissions for drivers and the lowest ride prices for customers. For a minimum of 6 months, Bolt in Harare commits to charging drivers no commission for using the platform.

Laurent Koerge, Head of Expansion at Bolt, said: “We are excited to be piloting our services in Zimbabwe. Our goal is not only to offer our drivers higher revenues per hire, but also to ensure a high demand due to competitive prices. Accordingly, our commission is significantly lower than that of our competitors. As a result, our drivers earn more and the service fees are attractive. We have been committed to profitability and fairness towards our drivers from the very beginning, because we firmly believe that happy drivers lead to happy customers.”

The super-app is committed to offering all customers a safe mobility experience and is introducing various safety measures and in-app features designed to protect riders and drivers. These safety measures include:

SOS button: it allows riders and drivers to get in contact with the police by simply pushing a button.

Share my ride: this feature enables riders and drivers to share a link with their real-time journey information.

In-app calls: in-app calls and messaging will be available on the app so phone numbers of riders and drivers will not have to be disclosed unless necessary.

Driver unmatching: If a rider or driver rates their trip with one star, they will be automatically unmatched from that rider or driver.

Bolt is easy to use: customers download the secure and free Bolt app from Apple App Store or Google Play Store and set up a user profile. When customers are ready to ride, they simply open the app, set their location and their intended destination. The app then gives an upfront cost estimate for the trip. Once customers accept the cost estimate, the app alerts drivers nearby who accept the ride.

Once a driver has accepted the ride, customers are able to see their driver’s details and can track the driver in real-time — making it easy to be sure that they get safely into the correct vehicle with the correct driver. When the ride is complete, payment is made in cash.