‘Concerning’: Bolt Malta Claps Back At ‘Unfounded Claims’ Of Price Hiking And Increased Waiting Times
Bolt Malta has issued a statement to “set the record straight” on what it called “concerning allegations” which said it intervened to increase both the waiting times and prices of its cab service.
Last week, mere days after a government crackdown on new work permit for third-country Y-plate drivers, cab prices around Malta substantially increased, as did the waiting times on the service’s app. Within hours, Bolt had come under fire for the new prices and waiting times, with even Home Affairs Byron Camilleri weighing in and calling the act “blackmail”.
This morning, Bolt Malta took to social media to address this criticism.
“Recently, there have been concerning allegations suggesting that Bolt intervened to increase waiting times and pricing mechanisms as some sort of retaliation,” the cab company wrote. “We refute these unfounded claims and want to provide the facts about how our marketplace operates.”
Saying it has had a presence in Malta for the last nine years (during which it provided “earning opportunities to thousands of drivers and couriers and to over 1,400 restaurant partners”), Bolt said it – much like other platforms in Malta, uses “automated surge pricing”.
Essentially, Bolt explained, the system “matches customers’ demand with drivers’ supply, to make sure that the service works properly: namely that the drivers have incentives through higher earnings to service any particular high-demand location at specific hours, preventing long wait times for customers.”
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And while Bolt admitted last week’s rise in prices was higher than usual, it explained how it had less to do with internal meddling and more to do with supply vs demand… only made worse by the refusal of those hundreds of permits.
“Whilst higher prices due to higher customer demand during tourist peak season are common, over the past week, average ride prices were approximately 10% higher compared to the same period in 2023,” the statement reads.
“This was due to a 19% decrease in the number of available drivers on our platform, linked to the rejection of temporary work permits of hundreds of drivers, as reported in the media.”
“This is further compounded by an endemic 7.9% turnover of personnel on average a month within the transport industry, according to statistics of the Central Bank of Malta,” Bolt continued. “Conversely, demand for rides has increased by 23%, which is higher than what we have historically seen at this time of year. These dynamics have led to more frequent price spikes.”
“The spikes in prices and the impacted waiting times observed over the past few days therefore relate to increased customer demand and the shortage of drivers.”
“We also understand Malta’s challenges and the strategy outlined by the Maltese government in the National Employment Policy 2021-2030,” Bolt finished in its statement. “That is why we will continue to actively cooperate with the Maltese Government on immediate actions to keep offering services to our customers whilst continuing to provide earning opportunities to the people living in Malta.”
What do you make of Bolt’s reply to last week’s allegations? Have you used the service over the weekend?
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