Mobility

Bolt drivers with 40% acceptance rate are eligible for Bolt’s 15% commission kickback bonus. In a message to drivers, Bolt added that it will be effected after they finish five trips in a day.

LULA, a South African-born mobility startup for office workers, has acquired the South African subsidiary of Zeelo, a US-born staff bus-sharing startup, following the latter’s exit from the region.

Uber has announced a new update allowing users to view the average cost and estimated duration of their trips in over 10,000 cities worldwide.

On Monday, Kenyan ride-hailing drivers started a five-day strike demanding better pay and the removal of VAT. At the end of the first day, they marched to the transport ministry’s office to voice their grievances.

Hala, a Dubai-based e-hailing service, is expanding into Egypt through a partnership with MwaslaTech, marked by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This marks Hala’s first venture outside the UAE.

BasiGo Rwanda has received a $225,000 recoverable grant from Rwanda Green Fund’s green investment facility, Ireme Invest, to upgrade its charging infrastructure and establish a charging station capable of supporting at least 20 electric buses per night.

The country’s e-hailing union is opposing the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)’s demand of ₦45,000 from its drivers operating around the airport. This comes after the authority allocated them a parking space two years ago.

Comrade Ibrahim Ayoade, the factional General Secretary of the Amalgamated Union of App-based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATON), says the union can’t own e-hailing apps under the law. This follows the demands of drivers to own and run their apps.

Ampersand, a Rwanda-based EV company, has entered into a strategic partnership with Chinese multinational, BYD, to buy batteries to build 40,000 electric motorbikes by 2026. This is part of a larger plan to electrify Africa’s 30 million commercial motorbikes.

The Amalgamated Union of App-based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATON) has called on the Lagos State government to regulate the ride-hailing business in the state to address issues including low pricing and high commission rates.

Following the suspension of over 6000 drivers over allegations of misconduct, Bolt drivers and operators in South Africa have said the development is unjustifiable, describing it ‘as a part of PR campaign’ at the expense of drivers.

Bolt has disclosed blocking over 6,000 drivers in South Africa over misconduct, only six months after the company suspended over 5,000 in Nigeria for misconduct and security concerns.

The Amalgamated Union of App-based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATON) has directed its members, including e-hailing drivers at Bolt, Uber, inDrive, and others, to join the ongoing Nigerian Labour Congress nationwide strike.

Bolt has introduced a bidding system similar to inDrive to incentivise drivers and reduce rider wait times.

The National Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) has released its Q1 2024 report, showing a significant increase in electric vehicle sales. Approximately 40% of total NEV sales in 2023 were achieved in Q1 2024 alone.

Payrails, a payments provider, has partnered with inDrive to expand the company’s payment services in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and other regions. Through the partnership, inDrive hopes to improve local payment experiences for both drivers and customers.

A few days after it was reported that Bolt Nigeria laid off many of its employees, the company has denied layoff claims, citing the company’s need to restructure its operations as the reason for letting its employees go.

Over a year after raising $1.3 million in pre-seed funding to digitise Kenya’s traditional bus ticketing system, BuuPass has acquired QuickBus, a bus-ticketing platform based in Nigeria and South Africa, in an undisclosed cash and stock deal.

M-KOPA and Bolt have teamed up to make transportation in Kenya greener with the planned introduction of over 5,000 electric motorcycles, promising better earnings for drivers.