Bolt Clamps Down on Inter-country Ride Requests, Fake Orders

Sunday Ehigiator

Ride-hailing company Bolt has revealed that it has taken measures to combat fraudulent activity on its platform, blocking several accounts responsible for requesting and cancelling fake rides. 

Additionally, the company said it has restricted cross-border ride requests following a surge in such activity in Nigeria and South Africa. 

The move comes after a recent online feud between citizens of the two countries, who engaged in a ‘ride-hailing war’ by ordering and cancelling rides in each other’s countries. 

The incident began after a South African revealed on X (formerly Twitter), that he ordered rides in Nigeria and cancelled them upon arrival, whenever he was bored. This prompted Nigerians to retaliate by booking rides in South Africa. 

Reacting to the situation, the Country Manager of Nigeria at Bolt, Yahaya Mohammed, in a statement, said the company has taken measures to resolve the issue of fake ride requests. 

Stressing that a thorough investigation has been initiated into its enhanced security measures.

The statement read, “Bolt is aware of the fake ride request incident between some individuals in Nigeria and South Africa.

“We have successfully taken measures to resolve the issue of fake ride requests affecting our driver-partners, particularly those operating in Nigeria and South Africa. The integrity and safety of our platform, both for driver-partners and riders, is our utmost priority.

“Following a thorough investigation and the implementation of enhanced security measures, we have addressed this issue swiftly by restricting inter-country ride requests. Additionally, those responsible for this malicious activity have been identified and held accountable by blocking them from the Bolt app.”

The country manager, thanking its driver-partners for their patience and professionalism, promised to foster a safe, reliable, and secure experience for all community members.

“We understand the impact this situation has had on our driver-partners in Nigeria and South Africa. We are committed to ensuring a safe, reliable, and secure experience for all our community members.

“We thank our driver-partners for their patience and professionalism during this time and remain dedicated to supporting them in every possible way,” it concluded.