Bolt has restricted the inter-country request feature for its customers in Nigeria and South Africa due to the recent social media ride-hailing war between the two countries. Bolt users from both countries engaged in a malicious act of booking and canceling rides inter-country.
While it is unclear how the ride-hailing war started, the drivers were the real victims of these cruel jokes which resulted in the unnecessary wasting of time and resources of the drivers who are also grappling with skyrocketing fuel prices and economic hardship.
The ride-hailing giant shared in a statement to BBC that they had blocked users who took back in this cruel game. They noted that the inter-country request feature which would now become unavailable for Nigerian and South African riders would still work between other countries.
The President of the Nigerian Union South Africa (NUSA), Doris Ikeri-Solarin reacted to the incidents in a statement saying that both Nations were wasting resources over a destructive rivalry.
The ride-hailing war also reportedly caused price surges in both countries, many affected drivers reportedly logged off their apps and went about other businesses leaving prospective customers stranded.