Bolt launches scheduled ride service for London customers

London customers can now schedule a journey with ride-hailing platform Bolt up to three days in advance, addressing one of the major weaknesses of ride-hailing platforms.

Drivers will wait for five minutes free of charge after they arrive, and the price is locked in when a driver accepts the order.

Passengers of scheduled rides will pay a small surcharge to account for the waiting time upon arrival and additional rider convenience, so drivers can increase their earnings.

Passengers can choose from a number of existing categories, including the everyday Bolt, the larger XL, the opulent Exec, and the recently launched Black Cab category.

The service also includes airport pick-ups with dedicated pick-up areas at all of London’s airports, which can be easily navigated to thanks to the in-app walking directions from Arrivals.

To arrange a scheduled ride, passengers simply tap the calendar icon, input the appropriate date, time, pick-up and drop-off points, and category. Drivers can see all of their scheduled ride requests in the Bolt Driver app. Passengers can cancel a ride at no additional charge up to one hour before the pick-up time. If the passengers cancels a trip after this point, they will be charged a cancellation fee.

Deborah Meijer, head of operations for Bolt in London said: “It’s safe to say that the cold and the dark are well on their way. This means that more and more Londoners are turning to the reliability and convenience of Bolt rides, with this being especially the case during the festive season. I’m delighted to give our customers the ability to plan ahead so they can spend more time in the moment and less time stressing about their journey.”

Bolt has also extended its recently launched Pet category, launched in London last month, to a further 15 cities including Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle and Bristol.