Bolt Kenya increases fares amid rising fuel prices

Digital taxi firm, Bolt, has adjusted fares on its services upwards, increasing minimum fares with a range of Ksh200 ($1.34) and Ksh250 ($1.67), and base fares ranging from Ksh70 ($0.47) and Ksh100 ($0.67), across categories, in response to high fuel prices.

The ride-hailing firm said it revised the prices “in response to the challenging macroeconomic factors affecting the public transport sector such as the recent fuel price hike by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra).”

“In Nairobi, the increased prices have been effected in all categories with the base fare ranging from Ksh70 and Ksh100 across the economy, base, boda and XL categories. The minimum fare has also been increased, with a range of Ksh200 and Ksh250 across the categories. Bolt has also increased per kilometre pricing and introduced a long-distance rate,” the company said in a statement Wednesday.

Bolt Country Manager Linda Ndungu said the price adjustment was aimed at mitigating fuel costs for drivers and would be implemented across all categories in Bolt’s Mombasa, Kisumu, Kakamega, Nakuru, Naivasha and Mt Kenya region networks.

“At Bolt, the interests of our driver community remain at the heart of our business and we truly believe that happy drivers provide better quality service for customers. As such, we have adjusted our pricing to mitigate the rising fuel costs. This adjustment reaffirms our commitment to offering top earnings for drivers on our platform, and to remain the preferred, cost-effective choice for our customers,” said Ms Ndungu.

Digital taxi drivers utilising the platform have had many complaints in the recent past over the company’s pricing model that they felt punished them by charging clients low fares despite the rising cost of living, with fuel prices increasing rapidly.

Bolt said in the statement that it recently launched a driver engagement centre to “enhance its driver relations and address drivers’ expectations in terms of handling their concerns.”