Ride-hailing service Bolt launches against Uber in Auckland, eyes Wellington and Christchurch

Wednesday, 11 June 2025

Bolt ride share launched in Auckland in June.

European ride-hailing company Bolt will start accepting ride requests today in Auckland, just weeks before the employment status of Uber’s drivers is tested in court.

Bolt will launch in Wellington and Christchurch in the coming months, but its New Zealand general manager Adam Muirson would not give dates.

Bolt is an Estonian company that says it aims to bring competition to Uber in Auckland, following Indian ride-hailing company Ola’s exit from the market, though the Indian giant Didi is still trying to build market share in the city.

Muirson promised a better deal for Auckland’s ride-share drivers and customers, including higher incomes for drivers than were available to them through Uber, as well as “lower prices and better service” to customers.

Founded under the name Taxify in 2013, two years after Uber launched in California, Bolt has not been immune to similar claims, and legal action, to those levelled against Uber.

In New Zealand, drivers took Uber to court, and won recognition that they were not contractors of Uber, but actually employees deserving of the same rights and protections as other workers, including regulated taxi drivers, enjoy.

Mevo head of community Frazer Black took Stuff for a ride in an Audi hybrid.

These included the minimum wage, guaranteed hours, holiday pay, sick leave, KiwiSaver contributions, the right to challenge an unfair dismissal, and the right to unionise and collectively bargain.

Uber’s appeal to the Supreme Court is scheduled for next month, but Bolt will launch with drivers on contracts where they are designated “partner” contractors, not employees.

The Uber case appears to be a dead rubber, with Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden having signalled a law change “necessary to ensure businesses and workers have more clarity from the start of their contracting arrangement”.

In the UK, Bolt faced a similar court case to Uber in New Zealand, which it lost, with Bolt drivers there recognised by the UK Employment Tribunal as workers entitled to holiday pay and the minimum wage.

Even after that victory in February, drivers with Bolt and Uber held a strike on Valentine’s Day in the UK to campaign for better pay and conditions.

BBC quoted one British driver who claimed she worked 80 hours a week, and still struggled to pay her bills, though Uber said all its drivers earned “at least” the national living wage.

Unhappy drivers claiming long hours and low earnings are not the only issue Bolt and Uber have faced.

Bolt ride share's New Zealand general manager Adam Muirson.

They have had to find ways to improve safety, both for women from drivers, and for drivers from abusive members of the public.

Bolt has launched women-only services provided by women drivers in many markets, responding not only to many women’s reluctance to use ride shares for fear of unwanted advances, or assaults, from drivers, but also for religious reasons.

On launch in New Zealand, Bolt’s app will have a feature through which passengers can discretely alert Bolt when the passenger needs emergency assistance, and Bolt will immediately contact emergency services with the details and location of the passenger.

One of the features Bolt was pushing to drivers in the run-up to its launch was its “emergency assist” features for them to get help fast when passengers become abusive.

Bolt did background checks on all drivers, and required drivers to have photos on display to prevent passengers from being exposed to drivers who had not passed its safety checks.

Passengers would also be able to share their locations through the app with trusted others like friends and family, enabling them to track the ride live.

And if a driver is ever given a one-star rating by a passenger, they will never be “matched” with that driver again.

Muirson said Bolt was introducing “real competition and a smarter alternative to owning a car” in New Zealand cities.

In markets overseas a large proportion of passengers using the service do not own a car.

Muirson said Bolt offered drivers flexible schedules, local support and a competitive commission structure to boost earnings.

Bolt’s Auckland website contains ghosted tabs for services it does not yet offer here, but offers overseas.

This includes Bolt Food, which is a rival to UberEats, a Mevo-style car-sharing service called Bolt Drive, and Bolt Micromobility, an e-scooter rental business.