E-hailing firm Bolt Southern Africa says it is implementing stringent compliance measures to stop the illegal renting out of Bolt driver accounts on its app, as part of various measures taken to boost passenger safety on the platform.
Over the past few years, registered drivers of the e-hailing app have been accused of renting out their profiles to friends or strangers who are not formally registered or known to Bolt.
This act, which involves a daily rental fee paid to the legitimate driver, often leads to the unknown driver committing criminal acts under an innocent person’s name.
For instance, the so-called “tenant drivers” have in the past been accused of participating in various crimes, including rape, assault and stealing unsuspecting passengers’ money and mobile phones.
However, Bolt tells ITWeb it has introduced measures to combat this illegal act.
“Bolt prohibits drivers from authorising any other person to use their Bolt driver account in any way whatsoever, including renting profiles to any other person,” says Andrew Ihsaan Gasnolar, head of public policy at Bolt Southern Africa.
“In our various markets across South Africa, we are robustly implementing compliance measures to root out this type of activity and ensure adherence to our terms and conditions. We have already engaged online/web platforms that may have these groups on online marketplaces, and we have developed an escalation process to block and take down these types of groups.”
The e-hailing drivers and operators in South Africa have created various groups on social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook.
These act as advertising platforms to illegally connect drivers wishing to rent out their Bolt driver accounts to friends and strangers who want to informally drive on the platform. Adverts are placed on such online platforms daily.
“Any driver found to be renting their profile to any other party, or allowing any unauthorised person to use their profile for any reason, will be removed from the platform permanently. Renting a profile to someone or from someone constitutes an act of fraud, and Bolt will not hesitate to lay charges of fraud with the South African Police Service if its investigations reveal that an individual has committed either of these crimes,” notes Gasnolar.
In 2017, Bolt rival Uber introduced a real-time ID check on its app – a security feature that periodically prompts drivers to share a selfie with Uber before they go online to start accepting ride requests.
The feature uses facial recognition technology to compare the live image to the photograph already saved on the Uber file, with the same account.
While Bolt does not yet have the real-time ID check on its app, the company says it is continually innovating to beef up its safety measures to provide a safer experience for all those using its app.
One of these is an unequivocal rule that all drivers require a Professional Driving Permit issued by local authorities to be accepted onto the Bolt platform. This permit is only granted to applicants who obtain a Police Clearance Certificate from the SAPS.
In December 2020, the women-only category was introduced on the Bolt app, to provide a safer way for women to ride in the various cities across SA, following feedback from female passengers.
In the same year, the e-hailing firm introduced an emergency response button for passengers, to enable them to easily connect to a 24/7 service, consisting of private armed response teams, private emergency medical services and roadside assistance, if they are involved in any emergency while on a Bolt ride.
“We are currently testing out the best possible features to heighten technology in South Africa and to provide an additional layer of safety for our users. Our core business is to provide reliable, safe and affordable transportation services to everyone,” comments Gasnolar.