After a few tense weeks, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has finally renewed Bolt’s licence. Bolt faced some setbacks a couple of weeks back after the NTSA delayed renewing the licence arguing that Bolt was taking more than the 18% commission required by law.
Bolt clarified that this was not entirely true and said that the extra 5% booking fee was charged to the riders and not drivers. Bolt even went ahead and suspended the booking fee yesterday. Bolt isn’t the only ride hailing app that charges riders a booking fee. Uber does the same and their licence is yet to be renewed too.
As the NTSA renews Bolt’s licence, one company that will not be happy about this is Little, one of its main competitors. Its CEO took to LinkedIn to complain that Bolt was operating without a licence. When he complained about this, Bolt was yet to get its licence renewed and the deadline was fast approaching. He wasn’t happy that Bolt was still operating in Kenya without a licence.
The comments by Mr Kamal are quite interesting given that he made them before NTSA had made its final decision.
All that drama aside, Bolt is excited with the changes with Linda Ndungu, Country Manager, saying, “We are happy to receive the renewal of our operating licence from the NTSA, after collaborative dialogue between key stakeholders within the industry. This accomplishment reflects our ongoing commitment to providing viable earning opportunities to drivers on our platform, and providing reliable and cost-efficient services to our customers. It also reaffirms our steadfast commitment to ensuring a secure platform for all users on our platform. We have consistently worked towards meeting the necessary regulatory requirements, and this renewal attests that we continue to be a trusted and compliant player in the ride-hailing sector.”
Read: Little and Makao Mini Apps are now available on the M-Pesa Super App