Berlin – It was a ride to my death. When on Sunday night a car drove onto the tracks in Landsberger Allee and collided with the BVG tram 9024, the driver and one of the three passengers were killed. The white Toyota Prius was traveling for a passenger transport company; it had been ordered using an app. So far it was not known which transport operator it was. Uber and FreeNow said they weren’t. But who then? That is now apparently certain.
“After checking the data available to us, it is likely that this trip was booked via the Bolt platform,” the company Bolt informed the Berliner Zeitung on request.
Taxi industry senses unfair competition
“It was with dismay that we learned of the accident that occurred on Sunday night in Lichtenberg, in which two people lost their lives and two others were seriously injured,” said Bolt. “Our deepest condolences go to the friends and relatives of the deceased in this difficult time, and we wish the two injured a speedy recovery.” The company wants to work with the police to help them investigate the accident.
Bolt, headquartered in Estonia, has also been offering a ride hailing service in Berlin since June. Like its competitors Uber and FreeNow, Bolt places orders with companies that use rental cars with drivers and collects a 15 percent commission. Because the fares are often below the taxi tariffs, the taxi industry sees unfair competition at work. With the little money that ends up with the carriers, such companies could not be operated in accordance with the law. Drivers are often on duty for too long. At FreeNow it was said that the passenger transport companies would not cooperate with them if they could not operate economically with the current business model.
.