Uber rival Bolt announces launch of new XL vehicle category onto its platform for London users

Bolt, Uber's biggest European rival, have announced the launch of an XL category from today which gives customers access to larger vehicles via the app. XL is a bespoke category for bigger groups with a seating capacity of up to six passengers. 

The introduction of this new category follows Bolt’s launch in London in June 2019. 

The larger capacity vehicles, typically SUVs and minivans, offer a cheaper alternative to large families for journeys to destinations such as the airport or weekend attractions, when compared to booking two regular private hire cars. Bolt takes 15% commission from its drivers, which is almost half of that taken by other ride-sharing platforms. 

Sam Raciti, Bolt UK Country Manager, comments: “Following the successful launch of our platform in June, we are excited to be introducing the XL category in London. 

"Bolt is committed to delivering an exceptional service to its customers and offering larger capacity vehicles is an important element of that. It is also vital to achieving the aims of our ‘Green Plan’ environmental strategy, as large families and groups can now travel together in a single vehicle, thereby reducing the carbon footprint of each individual passenger.” Last month Bolt announced that all journeys taken using its platform in Europe will be carbon neutral by offsetting emissions, making Bolt the largest ride-hailing platform in Europe to voluntarily commit to making its journeys carbon-neutral. 

The company has made a number of commitments as part of its environmental strategy, called the ‘Green Plan’. With a €10 million-euro investment up to 2025, Bolt will offset its contribution to the European transportation sector’s carbon dioxide emissions by at least five million tonnes. 

Image: Source; Bolt