The ride-hailing landscape in Malaysia has gained a new player with the official launch of Bolt, a ride-hailing service provider headquartered in Estonia.
The official announcement follows the company’s obtaining of its license to operate in Malaysia from the land public transport agency (APAD), and Malaysia is the second Southeast Asian market to come within its reach, after Thailand, and the ride-hailing service has a presence in more than 50 countries across five continents.
“Bolt’s mission to build cities for people, not cars, is central to everything we do. In Malaysia, we’re committed to helping reduce traffic congestion and transform public spaces by encouraging the shift from private car ownership to shared mobility,” said Bolt Malaysia general manager Afzan Lutfi.
Touted as the first European super-app, Bolt aims to tap into the Malasyian market which the company expects to reach a user base of 11.47 million individuals by 2029, and it aims to offer “an affordable, accessible and low-emission mobility solution for both drivers and riders”, starting with the Klang Valley.
Perusing the application, it appears that different members on the team have observed different promotions on the app, with a 50% offer applied a single ride, seven rides, or 20 rides, differing between individuals. The 50% discount promotion is applicable at a maximum rate of RM15 per ride, for both cash and card payments (personal rides only), and expires November 14, and as mentioned, covers the Klang Valley.
Using a route from Empire Subang Jaya to Mid Valley Megamall booked in the late-morning as an example, promotional pricing on Bolt appears to start from RM9 for the standard vehicle booking (regular pricing RM17), RM11 for Comfort (RM22 regular pricing), RM16 for XL (RM31), up to RM20 for Premium (RM35).
Accepted payment methods are cash and credit/debit card, and are divided between personal and work usage, the latter with fields for ride and expense reports (both open externally to a browser linking to the Bolt EU domain). At time of writing, e-wallet payments are not supported on Bolt in Malaysia.
Outside Malaysia, the range of services provided by Bolt also include scooter and e-bike sharing, food delivery, grocery delivery, car rental and corporate mobility, though Bolt Malaysia has not indicated if these other services will be introduced to the Malaysian market.
