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Uber Rival Bolt Relaunches in London After Two Years in Exile

Bolt would compete by offering lower fares for riders, and by taking a smaller cut of driver earnings compared to its rivals.

Uber Rival Bolt Relaunches in London After Two Years in Exile
A London street map sits on a smartphone using the Uber Technologies Inc. ride-hailing service smartphone app in this arranged photograph in London. (Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Uber Technologies Inc. rival Bolt, formerly known as Taxify, has relaunched in London -- nearly two years after its operating license was revoked by the city’s transit authority.

The Estonian company, backed by Daimler AG and most recently valued at $1 billion, said Tuesday it would compete in the U.K. capital by offering lower fares for riders, and by taking a smaller cut of driver earnings compared to its rivals.

The re-entry of Bolt marks another ride-hailing app in London’s crowded market. French private-hire limousine operator Chauffeur Prive -- now called Kapten -- recently launched in the city. Rival Wheely has also relocated its headquarters from Moscow to London.

Uber Rival Bolt Relaunches in London After Two Years in Exile

Bolt Chief Executive Officer Markus Villig said about 20,000 drivers had signed up to work with the company in London so far. All candidates must pass background checks in person at Bolt’s office prior to being permitted to offer rides, he said.

"It’ll take a few months to get everyone through the onboarding process but currently hundreds of drivers are joining per day," Villig said in an interview ahead of the launch.

Bolt is one of Uber’s biggest competitors in Eastern Europe and Africa, and in March this year said it was preparing to expand into the food-delivery market and utilize its existing network of drivers to do so. Villig said the startup will focus on ride-sharing only in London initially, however.

The company held more than a year of negotiations with Transport for London to re-obtain its operating licence after being suspended in September 2017, a week after starting, following questions about how it acquired its first permit.

"About two years ago we acquired a local private hire company called City Drive, which had only a few dozen drivers, and we used their license to launch our service," Villig said. "TfL said that wasn’t permitted under its rules, so we then started a full application which is what has now been granted."

Bolt isn’t the only ride-hailing service London’s transit regulator has taken strict action against. In 2017, it withdrew Uber’s license over safety concerns. The U.S. company, currently operating on a temporary licence, made efforts to appease regulators by creating 24-hour telephone support hotlines, promising better contact with police, and pledging to report any “serious incidents” that occur during a passenger’s journey.

Bolt said it would launch with a 24-hour support line staffed in London, and an in-app "panic button" for riders and drivers in the event of any safety concerns during a trip.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nate Lanxon in London at nlanxon@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Giles Turner at gturner35@bloomberg.net, Molly Schuetz

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