South Africa’s inbound tourism association and Bolt, the leading ride-hailing service available in more than 30 cities and towns across South Africa, have partnered to help travel industry service providers get back on the road to earning a sustainable income.
The partnership makes it possible for SATSA-registered tourism drivers and guides to easily access the earning potential offered by the Bolt platform, which connects them to passengers nearby seeking safe and affordable door to door transport.
Drivers can use their own vehicles to register on the Bolt platform, or they can rent vehicles from tourism service providers whose vehicles are not being used at present. Some tourism service providers have even loaned their unused vehicles to employees who cannot earn an income at present to use the Bolt platform to earn money.
“The South African tourism industry was one of the sectors most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with service staff like drivers and guides most badly affected,” says Gareth Taylor, Regional Manager for Bolt in Southern Africa. “This partnership will go a long way to helping those drivers get back behind the wheel and earning an income again until their primary employers can offer them full wages again.”
Bolt is available in most major cities in South Africa, including the local tourism hotspots of Cape Town, Durban, East London, Gqeberha, and the Garden Route.
“At SATSA, we are continually looking for ways to help our members navigate the complexities of the current COVID-19 environment, worsened by international travel bans to South Africa,” says Hannelie du Toit, chief operating officer of SATSA. “This collaboration with Bolt will help many of our members and their staff back to financial stability, whether their regular jobs are entirely on hold at the moment or whether they choose to supplement their income by connecting with other passengers through Bolt. The partnership is literally putting food on the table to help the industry survive.”
