Bolt to switch to corporate clients in Tanzania

Dar es Salaam. Passengers requesting for transport services with Bolt car operators in Tanzania may this week find it hard to get the service as the cars will only be available to corporate passengers.

This means that all retail cash travellers will be barred from the service, as part of the ride-hailing firm’s operational changes to cope up with regulatory environment.

In March this year, Land Transport Regulatory Authority (Latra) raised fares and cut commissions for the ride-hailing operators, prompting Uber to suspend operations in the following month of April.

However, Bolt continued offering the services while engaging Latra to resolve the issue until now when it says the environment is causing “losses.”

“Unfortunately, the engagements have taken longer than expected and longer than promised, hence exerting undue pressure on the sustainability of Bolt’s operations in the country,” the firm said in a notice to stakeholders. The planned changes are expected to be effective from tomorrow, August 17.

“Bolt has no choice but to mitigate against the losses in the market until it sees a considerable improvement in the regulatory ecosystem. Specifically, Bolt aspires for regulations that create a win-win situation among drivers, passengers, ride hailing operators, and regulators,” it added.

Under the new regulations which came into effect in April, fares doubled to Sh900 per kilometre while maximum commission for the ride-hailing companies was set at 15 percent from the previous 33 percent. The transport regulator said the changes were aimed at maintaining competition and ensuring affordable taxis. It defended the rules saying all providers save for Uber had conformed to the new regulations