Digital ride-hailing platform Bolt has disclosed that it compensates drivers for discounts offered to riders, urging its customers not to succumb to pressure to pay more than the fares indicated on the platform.

The firm’s country manager Linda Ndungu said that the cost of the discounts, which run into millions of shillings per year, is borne by the company and not the drivers.

“Contrary to the popular narrative that the drivers have been propagating that they are the ones who take a hit whenever a discount is extended to a rider, it is actually the company that incurs the cost because we usually reimburse the discounted amount by crediting it to the driver’s account,” Ms Ndungu said.

“This is information that we want to get out there so that we can stem this practice of drivers exploiting passengers by forcing them to top up the discounted amounts.”

In the operational structure, the manager explains, a trip that for instance would ordinarily cost the passenger Sh200 and for which a 10 percent discount is extended by the firm, the rider will pay Sh180 to the driver.

The driver will in turn be required to submit Sh36 commission in commissions which is equivalent to 18 percent of the Sh200 full ride cost. Bolt will thereafter compensate the driver the Sh20 discount that was offered to the customer.

Ms Ndungu expounds that all settlements are always cleared before close of every day. The disclosure comes at a time the firm is battling to redeem its image in the public eye after a series of controversial incidents that have worked to erode market confidence in its service.

As part of the intensified efforts to regain footing, Bolt has announced the dismissal of at least 5,000 drivers in the past six months due to non-compliance and safety-related matters.

It has enhanced safety features that include a selfie check tool for driver verification aimed at preventing impersonation and account sharing. It is also currently rolling out, on a testing basis, a rider verification feature to enhance driver safety. With the feature, passengers will be required to take a selfie before requesting a trip from Bolt.

“The rider will not be able to place an order if their selfie is not valid. The validation process takes from a few seconds to a couple of minutes, and riders only have to take a selfie the first time they place an order,” said Bolt.