Bolt with the option of women traveling with drivers. It is supposed to influence the “feeling of safety of passengers”

At the beginning of May, the journalists of “Rzeczpospolita” described 20 such cases. It was then established that 12 perpetrators were foreigners, and the remaining eight were not identified. The victims are Polish women, but also a few foreigners. The youngest of the victims is only 16 years old.

– Only at the end of 2021 and in the first quarter of this year, 15 proceedings concerning sexual offenses against women who took advantage of the so-called taxis for the application – said the prosecutor from Warsaw in an interview with Rzeczpospolita.

Rape and one attempted rape occurred in 13 out of 20 cases, and the remainder of forcing a passenger to perform another sexual activity. 12 perpetrators are foreigners, and the identity of the remaining eight has not yet been established. Half of them are Uber and Bolt drivers, and in three cases the type of application from which the ride was requested has not been determined.

Bolt for women. Rides with drivers

Bolt in cooperation with the Feminoteka foundation introduced the “Women for women” option. As part of it, you can order a ride, which will be carried out by the manager. So far, the option is available in nine cities:

• in ,
• in Cracow,
• in Wroclaw,
• in the Tri-City,
• in Lublin,
• in Bialystok,
• in Bydgoszcz,
• in Gorzów Wielkopolski
• in Zielona Góra.

Both women and men can choose the service. The latter, however, can only use it to book a ride for a woman. In addition, the manager may decline the ride when it turns out that the man has requested the ride for himself.

Driving a car driven by a woman significantly affects the sense of safety of passengers, both in terms of transport and personal. We hope that this service will also encourage women to work as a driver and that the availability of taxis offering this option will increase

– comments Jolanta Gawęda from the Feminoteka foundation.

Prices for the “Women for Women” service are the same as for other courses. However, the availability of the service is negligible, and if you manage to order it, the waiting time is significantly longer. Bolt says it is working to hire more women, which will increase the availability of the service.

In addition, trip tracking can be provided when using the app. For safety, there is also an emergency button connecting to the emergency number 112.

Maja Staśko is critical of Bolt’s new service

There are more and more comments about the new solution on the web. to the rash of sexist, racist and transphobic comments following the announcement of Bolt’s new option. She also noted that rides for women are a good option “to make us feel better”, but it does not solve “the source of the problem, which is the total arbitrariness of large transport companies”.

Drivers are still not verified, they often drive their data. They can harm people – women, men, non-binary people – and go unpunished. And in this matter, Bolt or Uber have not changed anything – because they are additional costs. Profits turned out to be more important

– she said. however, he informs that he is also active in this area in terms of improving security.

We conduct intensive activities aimed at improving the safety of taxi journeys, such as real-time driver verification or a series of safety trainings

– informed Paweł Kuncicki, Country Manager at Bolta.

In the same statement, however, Kuncicki says that the new option is mainly intended to encourage women to the profession. “The launch of the ‘Women for Women’ category is our next step, which not only increases the safety of passengers and drivers, but is mainly aimed at encouraging women to become drivers” – said Kuncicki.

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You need help?

Sexual violence is any unwanted sexual contact. According to UNICEF data, around 15 million teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 have experienced this type of violence worldwide, but only 1 percent of teenagers turn to a professional for help. Research shows that 80 percent. Rape victims develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Remember, if you or a loved one has been a victim of sexual violence, you can get help by calling the National Telephone Line for Victims of Domestic Violence “Blue Line” – 801 120 002 or 112.