Stay safe: Bolt advises against cash-based trips outside the app
Bolt South Africa has warned users to avoid cash-based trips outside the app, emphasising the importance of safety and in-app tracking.
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Bolt South Africa has warned riders against accepting cash-based or “offline” trips arranged outside its app, citing a rise in criminal incidents involving passengers who bypass the platform’s safety systems.
“When a rider accepts a trip outside the Bolt app, we lose visibility of that journey, and so do they,” said Simo Kalajdzic, Senior Operations Manager at Bolt South Africa.
“These trips cannot be monitored or traced, which means we cannot offer any assistance if something goes wrong. The safest choice is always to stay in the app.”
The e-hailing company said South African Police Service (SAPS) data shows an increase in incidents where passengers arranged rides directly with e-hailing drivers, particularly in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.
Many of these cases involved theft, assault or abduction, and SAPS noted that offline trips are significantly harder to investigate due to the lack of verified driver identities and digital trip records.
Bolt also said that criminals often approach passengers at airports, shopping centres or nightlife districts, offering cheaper rides while posing as e-hailing drivers. These individuals are not verified by the company, and the absence of in-app tracking or emergency alerts exposes riders to serious risk.
“These trips might seem convenient or cheaper at the time, but they can have life-threatening consequences,” Kalajdzic said. “If it’s not on the Bolt app, it’s not a Bolt trip.”
Mzo Ngcobo, from the KwaZulu-Natal E-hailing Council, echoed Bolt’s warning by urging passengers to always use the app.
“People, if they want to request a trip, they must use the e hailing apps. Everything must go through the app. They must not ask a driver directly, even if they see a car that looks like it’s doing Bolt. There is no safety at all in that type of travel. Make things easier for yourself and your family. Request and use the app to book a Bolt trip wherever you want to go. It’s 100 percent safe. If you have that trip on your records, you can track everything if something goes wrong along the way,” Ngcobo said.
Bolt has invested in safety infrastructure including real-time GPS tracking, a “Share My Ride” feature, an in-app Emergency Response Button connected to private emergency services, and the ability for riders and drivers to record audio during trips.
The company said it also collaborates with SAPS and the Road Traffic Management Corporation on joint awareness campaigns and real-time data sharing during investigations.
“We take the safety of our riders and drivers extremely seriously,” Kalajdzic said. “We will continue working hand-in-hand with law enforcement and our safety partners to ensure that every Bolt trip in South Africa is as safe as possible, but that safety starts with riders staying in the app.”