Some Kenyans online have been complaining about the cost of a women-only service introduced by taxi-hailing app Bolt.
The company recently introduced the service in Kenya that enables female passengers to request rides from women drivers.
A Kenyan user tweeted about the cost of the service in comparison with other categories:
Ladies. Bolt wamewaletea Women only drivers category… a little pricier than other categories…. Let’s see how this one goes pic.twitter.com/a3V998YWOa
— Gee Kadere 🇰🇪 (@Gee_Muri) September 7, 2021
“Charging more for the same distance because of “safety” is monetizing women’s fears because they are unable to vet & guarantee safety with regular male drivers. Flawed strategy,” tweeted @RamzZy
Another tweeter said the service was “horribly It’s sexist.”
Bolt has admitted that the prices appear to be “slightly costly”, saying this is in line with their pricing model.
“In practice, this means that we increase prices when there are more customers than our online drivers can handle,” it told the BBC.
The women-only category comes amid cases of harassment and violence against female passengers on public transport.
The company last week issued a statement condemning violence on drivers and passengers following an allegation by a rider that she had been assaulted by a driver. It said it was working with the police to “support investigations into the incident”.
The company has however told the BBC that the new service is not linked to the recent allegation, saying it has all along been planning for it.
