Ihr kostenloser Branchen-Newsletter
Lassen Sie sich von unseren Fachjournalisten einmal wöchentlich über die wichtigsten aktuellen Entwicklungen der Taxi-Branche informieren, bequem direkt in Ihre Mailbox.
Aktueller Termin
Meist gelesen
Bolt launches "Women for Women" in Berlin – safety promises instead of clear taxi standards?
IIn large German cities, women have more opportunities to opt for a female driver at the wheel in advance when booking a taxi ride. The ride-hailing company Bolt is now introducing the category 'Women for Women' in Berlin; more cities will follow, according to the company. "Women for Women" is an offering that puts safety and comfort at the center," said Christoph Hahn, General Manager Bolt Germany.
The competitor Uber has been offering such rides since May in Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. As the company stated, the offer is now also available in Cologne and Düsseldorf. The response in the three pilot cities has been enormous.
"Female users and drivers have confirmed to us: This option brings real added value," said Christoph Weigler, Germany head of Uber.
Uber: Longer wait times for women in the offer
However, those who opt for the option must nonetheless expect longer wait times, even though Uber in Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich since the start of the offer has been able to increase the number of female drivers by about two-thirds, according to its own figures. How long exactly the wait times are compared with those of other customers, an Uber spokesperson did not say. At the start of the program, the wait times were, according to the company, twice as long as the average wait time of all customers in Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt.
Bolt requires a selfie and a photo of the ID for identification
To be able to use Bolt's new feature, customers must verify their identity once. To do so, in the app a photo of an identity document and a selfie must be uploaded. For Uber, customers must indicate in their profile that their gender is female; according to a spokeswoman, the check then runs "automatically". She also noted that drivers can at any time refuse to transport a passenger if the passenger is not, as announced, a woman.
From the taxi industry's perspective
From the taxi industry's perspective, however, the offering also appears to be a PR instrument that elegantly bypasses a structural problem: The platforms promise more safety without facing the obligations that have applied in the taxi trade for decades. Taxi companies operate with licensed vehicles, vetted drivers, local knowledge and reliability requirements, clear tariffs, and an obligation to transport passengers, which makes a difference especially at night and in peripheral areas.
If intermediaries now advertise with a "Women for Women" category, two questions arise: Why is such an additional characteristic even necessary—and why is it being marketed as an innovation, instead of as an indication that many female customers apparently feel less protected in platform operations? Additionally, it remains open who bears the responsibility when the identity verification fails or conflicts arise.
Perhaps what is being marketed here is a security promise that, in everyday life, depends largely on tight capacity, unclear standards, and a business model that treats regulation more as an obstacle than as protection.
Content automatically translated.
Taxi-Fahrzeuge (Pkw) , Taxi-Newsletter, Taxameter, Taxi-Fahrer , BZP – Deutscher Taxi- und Mietwagenverband , Straßenverkehrsordnung (StVO) , Krankenbeförderung , Weiterbildung , Taxi-Konzessionen , Verkehrspolitik , Mietwagenbranche , Taxi-Apps , Berufskraftfahrer-Qualifikations-Gesetz BKrFQG) , Taxizentralen , Personal, Gehälter, Arbeitsschutz , Wirtschaftsnachrichten , Werbung , Taxi-Folierung , Taxi-Umrüster , Straßenverkehr , Elektromobilität, Taxifuhrpark und -flottenmanagement , Taxi-Versicherungen , Hybrid, Diesel, Erdgas , Taxi-Magazin
