Safety at Bolt is about more than features in an app, it requires an end-to-end approach across the business. That’s why Bolt’s Safety Team of over 500 people works relentlessly towards its safety goals, with Safety Specialists and Experts coming together to tackle some of the most complex challenges in ride-hailing.
The team’s core based in Bolt’s Tallinn HQ includes Safety Experts specially trained in product development, engineering, and operations. Bolt’s Safety Specialists work as part of the 24/7 Customer Support Team, supporting customers around the world from Bolt’s Safety Hubs in Portugal, Azerbaijan, Thailand, Nigeria, Kenya, and Poland.
For the Bolt Safety Team, working in safety is more than a job; it’s a passion, a duty of care, and a shared commitment to doing what’s right. They share a common mission to ensure that Bolt’s services have a positive impact and to drive incidents down across all markets.
Approach
Bolt’s Safety Team is responsible for developing, operating, and communicating a range of safeguarding features and support capabilities at Bolt. Their strategy hinges on a three-pronged approach leveraging prevention before a trip, monitoring during, and support tools after a trip.
To help prevent safety cases before they happen, the team develops and uses a number of trip verification features to help address the critical role of mutual trust between driver partners and riders in the safety of the platform. These include Driver Selfie Checks, Rider Rating, and Rider Verification.
To help driver partners and riders feel more comfortable during an active trip, the team has developed monitoring tools available through Bolt’s in-app Safety Toolkit. These include Ride Check, Share Location, Emergency Assist, and Record Audio.
For example, with Ride Check, the team can proactively detect whether a vehicle is stopped for too long, and will automatically engage with the rider and driver in-app to confirm everything is okay. If one of them confirms they need assistance, the feature will also provide them with the option to directly call emergency services, share the trip, record the audio or request Bolt Assistance with one touch via the in-app notification.
After a trip ends, Safety Specialists take every step to support driver partners and riders with safety cases 24/7 and ensure all appropriate measures to prevent a similar case from happening in the future are taken.
Partnership
This all supports the team’s work in partnership with external experts to help address and raise awareness of safety issues. For example, Bolt organises community events and engagements to share local information and updates.
See here what you need to know about the Bolt Safety Team.
