micromobilitybiz Delivering news updates to the micromobility industry, focusing on e-bikes, e-scooters and green transport
Micromobility operator Bolt has announced a new ‘reckless rider score,’ believed to be an industry first.
Estonian shared transport company Bolt is aiming to tackle unsafe riding habits on its e-scooters, to help improve the perception of safety in micromobility.
The reckless rider scoring systems collects inputs, including tandem riding detection, frequent abrupt braking and skidding, collisions, and illegal parking, to evaluate the rider’s behaviour.
Each of these behaviours is ranked at the end of each ride, and users’ behaviour is evaluated every five rides to give them a score.
This feature is currently being tested in Germany and Portugal, and is due to be rolled out in other markets throughout the year.
Dmitri Pivovarov, VP for rentals at Bolt said: “As announced in our latest Scooter Safety Report, in 2021 we decreased the number of injuries by 26% and accidents involving our scooters by 12%, while increasing the number of rides five times in comparison to 2020. However, we constantly raise the bar for the safety of our service. This is why we hope that standards included in our pledge and rider’s score will become an inspiration for the whole industry.”
If a rider is in the top 2% of reckless riders in a given city, Bolt will implement a three-step process to promote safer riding habits. First, the rider will receive educational materials detailing how to use a scooter safely. If the rider’s score does not improve over the next five rides, their scooter speed will be limited to 15 km/h for the next five rides. If these two measures do not bring any improvement, the user will be suspended from using scooters for one week with the option to appeal the decision to Bolt’s customer service team.
The reckless rider score score is part of the Scooter Safety Pledge, developed in partnership with expert mobility consultancy Steer.
Matthew Clark, head of new mobility at Steer, said: “Shared micromobility has significant potential to reduce car trips in our cities. To unlock this potential, a strong focus on the safety of shared micromobility is vital. This approach can maximize user confidence in e-scooters as a new mode of transport and give cities confidence to facilitate provision of long-term partnerships with operators. Steer is pleased to support the research behind this report which demonstrates Bolt’s commitment to placing the safety of e-scooter users and non-users at the core of their shared e-scooters operations.”
Read more: Pure Electric secures £12.5m loan to fund product development and business strategy
Bolt’s Scooter Safety Pledge outlines the companies current safety initiatives, including working together with cities to set up safe conditions for micromobility, tackling intoxicated riding, effective rider education, preserving public space and protecting vulnerable groups.
Bolt e-scooters are not currently available in the UK, but its ride-sharing services are.
