Ride-hailing service, Bolt (formerly Taxify), has promised to investigate an assault launched by a rider against its driver.
In a video that went viral on social media, a Bolt rider was caught assaulting her driver, an incident that caused an uproar on Twitter and Instagram.
“What exactly could someone do that would warrant assault?” a Twitter user @lilcyl queried. “Ogbeni, make her enter a cell, we don’t want to know the other side of the story because if roles were reversed all hell will let loose.”
Another user @Toyowoseni wrote: “NOTHING!!! Absolutely nothing justifies an adult hitting another adult. I don’t want to know the kind of provocation he may or may not have instigated. The woman should be punished thoroughly.”
Reacting to the incident, Public Relations Manager, Bolt Africa, Nthabiseng Mokoena told BizWatch Nigeria, that the ride-hailing service doesn’t tolerate assault, such that it imposes punishments on violators of its Terms and Conditions (T&Cs).
When asked if the rider would be sanctioned for assaulting the driver, Mokoena said “Bolt is ready and willing to assist in the said incident. Should the driver report the incident to our Customer Support team is available to effect the appropriate steps to ensure that riders who violate drivers physically or verbally are prohibited from accessing the Bolt platform?”
Explaining that like Bolt’s drivers, riders are often sensitised on the need to ensure conduct, the ride-hailing spokesperson stated that “riders have access to various communique where we educate, inform and create awareness on topics of safety, courteousness, payment and how to use the platform effectively and efficiently along with our platform T & Cs.”
