Bolt offers to help get Londoners to vaccine appointments in the capital

Ride-hailing operator Bolt is calling on the UK Government to take up its offer of free rides to Londoners who need to get to Covid-19 vaccination appointments safely. Bolt has pledged an initial £250,000 worth of rides to the government and said its 50,000 registered London drivers were on standby to help with the vaccination effort.

Bolt said the move would help the government fulfil its ambition of vaccinating the top four priority groups by mid-February, and said the service had been offered to the government and NHS London. It is urging the relevant authorities to get in touch to confirm logistics and ensure the scheme is up and running as soon as possible. Bolt said it was also interested in hearing from any third-party organisations involved in the mass roll-out that may also benefit from free transport.

Bolt said any companies or organisations that fund want to further free rides for people in priority need of the coronavirus vaccine should also get in touch. “This vaccine is key to restoring our lives back to normal – to return to work, to school, to socialising and to get our economies moving again,” said Markus Villig, Bolt’s co-founder and CEO (pictured). “We’re keen to do whatever it takes to help the UK government with its ambitious vaccine roll-out targets, and we hope they take us up on our offer.”

Sam Raciti, Bolt’s UK General Manager added: “The vaccines appear to be the way out of this crisis so as a business committed to London and the UK, we want to do our bit to help beat this horrible virus and set London free again in 2021. This week, the government announced London’s ExCel centre as the biggest vaccine hub in London, and we’re sure there will be other sites added to the list in due course – our 50,000 drivers in London are here and ready to help get people to these sites for their vaccinations.”