Bolt e-bikes as electric shared bicycles in the Netherlands

The Estonian mobility platform Bolt is mainly known in the Netherlands as a taxi app, but already has hundreds of thousands of shared bicycles and scooters in more than 170 cities in 20 countries. As of today, 200 e-bikes are available in Enschede and in the near future it also wants to offer shared bicycles in other large Dutch municipalities. The company makes bicycles available that use a method to prevent nuisance and unsafe situations.

Prevent nuisance
The shared bikes can be rented via the existing Bolt app. Users open the app, scan the QR code on the bike and can drive away immediately. They may return the bicycle anywhere in the service area, as long as it is parked neatly and does not cause a nuisance. Bolt deploys special patrols to tidy up incorrectly parked bicycles and prevent too many e-bikes from piling up or causing a nuisance in any other way.

Safety precautions
In addition, Bolt’s green bicycles have a number of safety measures. In the beginner mode, new tenants are presented with the traffic rules and the bike automatically has less power. And the app has an ‘alcohol lock’ on weekends during the evenings: a smart test that prevents drunk people from renting a bicycle. Only users with sufficient responsiveness are allowed to unlock a bike.
The lock will take the form of a quick and simple cognitive test that measures reaction time to three image changes, knowing that alcohol affects reaction speed. This test is opened by scanning the QR code on the bikes. This is mandatory for all Bolt users who want to use a bike on weekends, Thursday to Sunday, between 7 PM and 6 AM. If the reaction time exceeds a certain threshold or if the user decides not to take the test, the app will not unlock the bike.

Insurance
Cyclists who use Bolt are also automatically and free of charge insured against accidents and damage to others. The accident and liability insurance is provided by Allianz. Allianz is the insurance with regard to third parties. The policy is Personal Accident Insurance for individuals who rent a Bolt device through the Bolt application.

Almost always available
The bicycles used by the mobility platform have been specially developed for shared use: extra sturdy and easy to adjust to the height of the rider. Striking: they do not have pneumatic tires, but tires made of solid elastic thermoplastic polyurethane, which means that they can never puncture and have an extra long life. As a result, the bicycles are almost always available. The tires feel as if they have been inflated to about 3.5 bar, the normal hardness of a pneumatic tire. As a result, the comfort is comparable. Bolt has plans to collaborate with sheltered workshops for maintenance, for example for bicycle repairs and the installation of new batteries.

Service area
The service area contains the city of Enschede. During special events or holidays, the service area may be modified to meet increased demand, or to prevent nuisance or vandalism. Bolt is currently in talks with other municipalities in Twente to be able to offer bicycles there as well.

Groningen, second city in the Netherlands
From September, Bolt will also offer 300 e-bikes in Groningen. Bolt, together with Go Sharing, has received a permit for this from the municipality of Groningen. The municipality wants to offer cleaner transport in the city with the electric shared bicycles.

230,000 scooters and e-bikes
Bolt offers ‘micromobility’ worldwide: electric shared bicycles and scooters that allow city dwellers to move easily from A to B. The platform is growing strongly: in March 2022, the number of journeys was 500% higher than in the same month last year. Earlier this year, Bolt announced that it is investing €150 million in further growth of micromobility. By the end of the year, the company aims to offer a total of 230,000 scooters and e-bikes.