South Africa, Nigeria inter-country ride requests halted due to 'Bolt war'
Estonian ride-sharing platform Bolt has had to restrict inter-country requests between two African nations due to a wave of pranks, running in both directions, the BBC has reported.
This "Bolt war" phenomenon involves people in one country booking and then canceling rides in the other country.
The requests mostly flow between Nigeria and South Africa, over 6,000 kilometers apart, and form part of a long-running social media rivalry between people in the two countries, the BBC reported.
However, Bolt drivers are unlikely to see the funny side, as they are being sent on a wild goose chase to find passengers who weren't even in the same country and, in Nigeria at least, thanks to sky-rocketing fuel prices, drivers often lose out both on these fuel costs and in lost custom from legitimate customers.
The issue has snowballed also because fares have had to rise, leading to reduced custom, while drivers also report receiving insulting messages via the app too.
The BBC said it had been informed by Bolt that offending users have been identified and blocked.
The "Bolt war" likely can be placed in the context of rivalry and more in the sports and entertainment arenas of the two nations.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
Source: BBC
