Bolt, the leading ride-hailing platform, today hosted a road safety training session for its drivers at its Driver Engagement Centre in Randburg. The training, held ahead of the busy festive season, was part of Bolt’s global safety campaign and reinforced the company’s commitment to ensuring the safety of its community.
Facilitated by experts from the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) Bolt’s emergency button provider, the session focused on critical road safety topics, including fatigue management, vehicle maintenance, driver behaviour and passenger safety measures.
“This training was an important step in assisting driver-partners for the festive season, a time when road safety risks are heightened,” said Simo Kalajdzic, Senior Operations Manager at Bolt. “The training demonstrates our ongoing commitment to making every ride on our platform safer and more secure for drivers and passengers alike.”
Layton Beard, Head of Public Affairs & International Relations at (AA), added, “South Africa’s road deaths average around 14,000 people annually, and this is a national crisis. Over the holidays, in particular, serious road accidents are a daily occurrence. Over the 2023/2024 festive season alone, 1,427 people died in road accidents on South Africa’s roads. Top causes of road accidents include distractions, drunk driving, speeding, vehicle faults and reckless driving. Many of these leading causes of road accidents are under our control, and reminding ourselves of these may help prevent accidents and the life-altering consequences they can have.”
The training built on Bolt’s existing partnership with the AA, which introduced an integrated in-app emergency button, providing drivers and passengers with 24/7 access to private security and emergency response services. Bolt further enhanced its ability to ensure safe journeys during the year’s busiest travel period by equipping drivers with essential skills and knowledge.
This initiative highlighted Bolt’s dedication to using innovative tools and partnerships to create a safer ride-hailing ecosystem for all and forms part of the company’s commitment of €100 million to upgrading safety on the platform over three years.
DID YOU KNOW?
Bolt is the global shared mobility platform that provides ride-hailing, scooter and e-bike sharing, food and grocery delivery, and car rental services in over 600 cities across 50 countries. Bolt’s services connect to existing modes of transport making it easier for people to move around. In doing so, we aim to reduce overall levels of car usage and ownership and help make cities for people, not cars. The company’s full range of services are:
● Ride-hailing
● Bolt Business, a corporate mobility service
INFO SUPPLIED.
