Bolt's launch exceeds targets
European ride-hailing company Bolt is eyeing up Christchurch and Wellington but only after building its Auckland base.
The launch in the country's largest city has quickly surpassed rider and driver targets.
Bolt's entry into Auckland in mid-June extended the competition beyond marketplace kingpin Uber and India's DiDi, which moved into the capital city last month.
The Estonian-headquartered company repeated its plans to open up in other cities, but would not be moved on when it might expand its app-based service south.
Aside from taxis, Uber is the only ride-hailing operator in Christchurch.
Bolt New Zealand general manager Adam Muirson said the company wanted to continue building an Auckland base before looking at other cities.
"We definitely have got strong national aspirations, but the important thing right now is we are focused on getting Auckland right. So we have a number of goals to get here before we further our thoughts or put a timeline to the expansion."
Extending ride-hailing to other cities was expected to be easier than setting up in a new country as it had an on-boarding platform for riders and drivers already in place.
The next steps would be to alert regulators and partners, opening up the app for drivers to apply and letting new riders know it was open for ride requests.
Mr Muirson said New Zealand was positively positioned for expansion as, unlike some countries, it had one set of regulations to follow.
Bolt had developed strong relationships with regulatory bodies.
"So opening in another city is far simpler compared with opening the first. Of course there is a lot of work and complexity which goes into it, but it won't take anywhere near as long as it did for Auckland."
He said the Auckland launch over the past two months had exceeded expectations.
More drivers joining than expected had provided strong coverage within the first week, while rider sign-ups had surpassed targets.
"We are months ahead of where we thought we would have been from both of those numbers. ...
"We have got many, many Aucklanders trying Bolt for the first time and because we have got so many more partner drivers and riders signed up than expected, total rides are far ahead of where we projected."
He said the strong demand reflected the desire for better value in ride-hailing.
Stagnant competition had resulted in riders and drivers "piling" into Bolt quickly. Within the first week of opening competitors had provided discounts in response to incentives promoted on the Bolt app for riders and drivers, he said.
Bolt's entry follows the exit of Ola and Zoomy over the past two years.
The company is Europe's leading ride-hailing platform, operating in more than 600 cities across 50 countries and has more than 200 million users world-wide.
Over the past year Bolt has opened up in Greece, Canada under the brand name Hopp, the UAE and Malaysia.
Among the first New Zealand riders were Kiwis who had Bolt accounts when they were travelling abroad.
Mr Muirson said the company had taken lessons learned from operating in four continents and applied them to New Zealand so riders were paying less and partner drivers were being paid more.
Bolt has a local team in Auckland and drivers can book drop-in sessions with staff to address any challenges or general queries.
A few weeks ago the company released a family plan so trips could be taken and paid under a single account.
Bolt-branded signage was launched last week for drivers in return for increased earnings.
Mr Muirson said ride-hailing was helping people move away from private car dependency and providing a more affordable option for getting around the city.
Bolt is about to release further target achievements over the next few days.
tim.cronshaw@odt.co.nz
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