Several South African and Nigerian Bolt users have been permanently banned from the e-hailing app after requesting rides in the other’s country.
This follows a post on X (formerly Twitter) that gained notoriety for revealing that users from different countries could request rides in others.
We could trace the post back to X user @NimrodErnest1 who seemingly started the entire debacle by uploading a screenshot of themselves requesting a ride in Nigeria from South Africa as a prank:
When I’m bored, I request in Nigeria, akere their brothers are disrespecting us. pic.twitter.com/fLizh8gMU3
— Nimrod Ernest (@NimrodErnest1) August 20, 2024
The original post has by now amassed over 62,000 views on the social media platform. It was republished by the page @AfricaFactsZone where a further 1.7 million users saw it.
As expected, dozens of South African Bolt users mimicked the first poster and requested rides in Nigeria after realising they could do so. Nigerian residents later retaliated and requested rides in South Africa.
While treated as a light-hearted tussle by social media users of the two countries, the Bolt operators on the ground were the real ones who were handed the short end of the stick.
By accepting a ride from a user in a different location and driving to their purported pickup spots, these fake requests wasted the Bolt drivers’ time, fuel, and money, impacting their livelihoods in a significant way.
Bolt takes action
Now that the dust has settled, TopAuto got in touch with Bolt to find out how it was possible for a user in one country to request a ride in another, and how the company will be addressing the matter going forward.
“Bolt is a global ride-hailing platform that allows customers to request rides in different countries where the service operates,” said Senior Operations Manager Simo Kalajdzic.
“If a Bolt customer from South Africa or Nigeria travels to another country where Bolt is available, they can seamlessly use the app to request a ride in that new location.
He explained that the ability to request rides in different geographical regions is made possible by Bolt’s integrated global platform, which is designed to function across various areas.
When a customer opens the Bolt app in a different country, the app automatically adjusts to the local settings, including currency, language, and available services, allowing for a smooth and consistent experience regardless of location.
“Unfortunately, people took advantage of this feature for malicious reasons, which we strictly condemn,” said Kalajdzic.
After discovering the root cause of these incidents, which only took place between South Africa and Nigeria, Bolt took decisive action.
“We quickly blocked the riders involved and implemented mechanisms to prevent similar activities in the future,” said Kalajdzic.
“Additionally, we’ve restricted ‘inter-country’ ride requests to maintain platform integrity and protect Bolt driver-partners and passengers.”
The platform’s algorithms were also updated to better detect and block such behaviours in the future.
Kalajdzic avoided commenting on the number of rides requested between the African nations and how many profiles Bolt banned.
However, he did confirm that these users will be blocked indefinitely unless they can successfully appeal the suspension.
When asked if Bolt would reimburse the duped drivers for their troubles, which arose from a system exploit, Kalajdzic said that the company is currently reviewing the feasibility of compensation “based on the number of rides booked.”
“Once we decide, we’ll communicate the outcome to the drivers,” he said.
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