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Bolt unveils Trusted Contacts feature to enhance passenger safety

It is part of ride hailing company's Ksh 14 billion commitment over three years and joins a suite of existing safety features in its in-app safety toolkit.

Bolt has launched a feature that will ensure the security and safety of passengers is not compromised while using their ride hailing service.

The new feature, known as Trusted Contacts, will enable passengers and drivers to add names and phone numbers of friends or relatives to a list of contacts for their account, so that Bolt’s Safety Team can get in touch with them if the account holder can’t be reached.

The feature is part of Bolt’s ongoing investment in upgrades to safety features on its platform and will ensure quicker escalation of Ride Check notifications, Emergency Assist requests or any other significant safety incident reported if the Safety Team can’t get a hold of the account holder.

It is also part of its Ksh 14 billion commitment over three years and joins a suite of existing safety features in its in-app safety toolkit. Recent passenger safety features include Ride Check to proactively detect whether there’s anything out of the ordinary during a trip, Share Location for real-time location sharing with friends and family, and Emergency Assist to help riders quickly and discreetly alert emergency services or private security partners.

In a statement, Dimmy Kanyankole, General Manager Bolt Kenya and Tanzania, said, “With trusted Contacts, we aim to build on our existing efforts by ensuring we can quickly escalate a Ride Check notification or Emergency Assist request to a friend or family member if we can’t get a hold of the Bolt account holder, themselves. It’s part of our ongoing investment in safety through new products, features, and our dedicated in-house specially trained safety team, to ensure that we can continue to improve the safety ecosystem of the Bolt app, offering drivers and riders a high-quality ride-hailing experience.”

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Kenyans have previously expressed concern over the safety guarantees offered by ride hailing companies in the wake of incidents where drivers have sexually misbehaved or threatened passengers after differing over fare.

In one incident, a Bolt driver was caught on camera indecently exposing himself while carrying two passengers. The two passengers who were headed to Gachie from Adlife Plaza on Ring Road were forced to take a video of the driver who was not heeding to their complaints and questions. The driver was suspended by Bolt.

In another incident, a passenger was locked in the car for refusing to be overcharged. The passenger had claimed the Bolt operator had refused to take Ksh 350, which was a discounted amount, and instead wanted Ksh 580.

Some drivers are also known to prefer offline trips over cash so as to charge more money thus not only making the companies, which also include Uber and Little Ride, incur losses but also compromise passenger safety.

In the statement, Bolt said it remains committed to building a platform that not only meets the safety needs of its users but also provides peace of mind at every step of the journey.

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