Tanzania Taxi Business Bolt grows despite challenges

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania:

On-demand mobility platform Bolt said at the weekend that its business was growing steadily despite challenges experienced in 2022.

“Bolt is delighted that there were significant milestones achieved in 2022 despite the challenges experienced. The business has continued to experience significant growth and Bolt continues to be the most preferred means of mobility across urban locations in Tanzania,” Bolt’s Regional Manager for Eastern Africa, Kenneth Micah, said in a statement yesterday.

Bolt has just released its 2022 end-of-year data insights and key highlights, showcasing its performance in terms of services offered and milestones achieved.

The recently-released data shows, among other things, that despite 2022 being a generally difficult year for Tanzania’s ride-hailing industry, the industry is still quite promising.

The longest cumulative ride by a customer in Tanzania was over 7,000 km, while the average distance was 7 km.

The most popular destinations in Tanzania included the Mlimani City Mall in Dar es Salaam, the Gran Meliá in Arusha, Rock City Mall in Mwanza, and the Royal Village Hotel in Dodoma.

Recently, the Tanzania Land Transport Regulatory Authority (Latra) gazetted new regulations under notice number 7284, introducing favourable price and commission rate caps for the ride-hailing services.

According to Mr Micah, the new tariffs offer an opportunity for Bolt to continue offering full scale operations.

“This also provides drivers operating on the platform with access to viable earning opportunities….Tanzania remains an integral market for the business and with the positive progress on the regulatory front, Bolt is hopeful for accelerated growth in the ride-hailing industry,” he said.

Mr Micah said Bolt will continue to work with Latra and other government and private sector stakeholders to ensure the ride-hailing industry grows to its full potential.