Bolt offers rental cars and taxis in Frankfurt

As a mobility platform for rides with taxis and rental cars, Bolt has now launched in Frankfurt am Main. In its press release at the launch, the app-based ride-hailing service immediately stated its brokerage fees. They are 15 percent for rental cars and 7.5 percent for taxis. Like Uber before, Bolt announces that it works in Germany "exclusively with licensed rental car and taxi companies," whose drivers hold valid passenger transport permits.

As a platform, Bolt acts as an intermediary between drivers and passengers of licensed rental car and taxi companies. Bolt tries to attract partners with the argument that lower prices ensure higher demand and thus overall higher earning potential for fleet operators, which they could pass on to their drivers in the form of higher salaries.

Bookings can be made via an app, which is available for both Android devices and the iOS ecosystem. When registering, passengers must provide a debit or credit card or an account with PayPal or ApplePay as a payment method. For the first ten rides within the Frankfurt city area, customers only have to pay half of the fare as an introductory offer. According to Bolt, they can save up to eight euros per ride this way. In Berlin, the ride-hailing service of the Estonian company has been available since July 2021. There, one can book four categories of rental cars, including six-seaters and the taxi category. In other German cities listed on Bolt's homepage, only scooters are bookable so far.

In Frankfurt am Main, the company also requires affiliated drivers to wear an FFP2 mask, just like their passengers, regardless of whether a partition is installed or not. The front passenger seat must remain free, Bolt states.