Bolt Introduces Driver Selfie Verification Feature To Increase Passenger Safety

Bolt, the leading on-demand mobility platform in Africa, has introduced a driver selfie verification feature to increase passenger safety by combating driver impersonation. The feature has been fully rolled out to all drivers operating on the Bolt platform across South Africa. It will require drivers to take a selfie, thus verifying their identity before going online. The driver’s selfie will be matched against the Government database (Department of Home Affairs) to ensure the right driver is behind the wheel. Drivers, at random, will also be prompted occasionally to share a live selfie to ensure that the correct driver is behind the wheel while online.

Takura Malaba, Regional Manager, East, and Southern Africa: “Driver impersonation is an issue across the ride-hailing industry. We are aiming to tackle that issue by permanently blocking all drivers caught renting out their profile since this constitutes fraud and could compromise the safety of our platform. We have also taken steps to ensure driver safety as well by requiring riders who request from previously identified high-incidence hotspots to take a selfie of themselves prior to requesting a trip. Both features enhance driver-rider trust by consolidating the overall safety of our platform.”

The Bolt app offers other safety features such as ‘Share my ETA’ that allows passengers and drivers to share their trip details with trusted individuals. Bolt, by partnering with the AA, has also improved its SOS button feature which enables riders and drivers to connect quickly and easily to 24/7 private armed and medical response teams.

Bolt recently announced it surpassed 1 billion rides in Africa in just seven years and expects the number of drivers on the platform to hit over 1 million in the next six months. Part of this announcement included the company’s plans to invest €500 million in its operations in the continent over the next two years. These funds will be used to expand Bolt services in Africa as well as introduce new features on the platform to tighten safety