Bolt reorganizes transportation options and introduces family-centered profiles in South Africa.
Bolt, a leading ride-hailing platform in South Africa, has introduced a new feature called Family Profiles, making ride-hailing faster, simpler, and more connected for families. This innovative feature allows one person to manage and pay for trips for up to nine others under a single account.
With Family Profiles, households can enjoy centralized trip management, monthly spending limits, live trip notifications, and the ability for members to request rides independently if they have their own Bolt accounts. All members must be over 18, aligning with Bolt’s safety and legal policies.
Simultaneously, Bolt has redesigned its ride categories - Economy, Bolt, Comfort, Business, XL, and Women for Women - to streamline rider choices, reduce confusion, and ensure drivers with higher-quality, newer vehicles are compensated fairly. This update aims to provide clarity, value, and fairness, enhancing the experience for both riders and drivers.
The revamped categories offer clearer options suited to different needs while maintaining safety through features like trip verification codes, live location sharing, emergency assistance, and real-time monitoring by the Bolt Safety Team. Lerato Motsoeneng, Senior GM at Bolt South Africa, stated that the category restructure is about clarity, value, and fairness, and is intended to simplify the rider journey and help top-rated drivers earn more.
Family Profiles also includes Bolt's existing in-app safety features such as trip verification, live ride tracking, emergency assistance, and real-time monitoring by Bolt's Safety Team. The feature is designed to streamline the process of booking rides for others, particularly for a growing segment of older riders or dependents who may struggle with smartphones or digital payments.
Moreover, the Family Profiles feature allows each rider to use their own Bolt account while the primary user retains oversight. Users of Family Profiles receive real-time trip notifications, ensuring transparency and peace of mind for all involved.
In summary, the key benefits of Bolt's Family Profiles and ride category overhaul in South Africa are simplified ride coordination and payments for families, enhanced ride-hailing clarity, strengthened safety, fair compensation for top-rated drivers, and an overall smoother, more transparent, and secure ride-hailing experience tailored for South African households.
Technology has been integrated into the Family Profiles feature, allowing for seamless management and payments through a single account. This modern approach to ride-hailing, accompanied by the revamped ride categories, embodies the lifestyle of efficient and connected households in South Africa.
