Bolt’s ride-hailing feature rolls out in Milton Keynes

Whether travelling to an important Christmas party, or to catch a plane or train, passengers in Milton Keynes are now able to schedule rides on the Bolt ride-hailing app up to three days before their trip.

The Estonian company has especially rolled out the feature in preparation for the busy festive period, during which it expects business and the popularity of its service to increase by an astounding 20%.

The move also comes after the popularity of its ride-hailing service has already increased in recent months due to days becoming colder, darker and wetter.

Passengers will pay a small surcharge to account for the waiting time upon arrival and additional rider convenience, making for an opportunity for increased earnings for drivers. It also allows for passengers and drivers to plan their day around their scheduled rides.

Throughout the year, the most popular pick-up and drop-off locations of Bolt’s ride-hailing service are public transport hubs like train stations and airports. This is especially the case in the run-up to Christmas with demand for train rides and flights significantly increasing. The Civil Aviation Authority reported that a whopping 17.8 million passengers travelled to and from airports across the country in December of 2022 alone.

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.

Markian Iwaniw, Head of Operations for Bolt across the UK, said: “It’s safe to say passengers and drivers are already making good use of our ride-hailing with it getting colder. This will only increase the further into the busy festive season we get. 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.”

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