AUTONEWS

See what it was like to travel for a week on the transport app that is a hit in Portugal

Bolt gave us a challenge: What would a week be like without driving our everyday car? It is true that the challenge would be more sustainable, but the anxiety that began to increase right away left us with certain doubts. Would we be able to travel everywhere using the Bolt, whether by car, bicycle or electric scooter? We accept the challenge and can now make a small 'spoiler'. The initial anxiety turned into longing when we stopped using the app. Let's go...For someone who drives a car every day and whose daily life depends on his own car, contact with Bolt, as you can imagine, had been limited until now. But right away we realize the many advantages that this type of application provides us.

Zero headaches and worries...Let's start with the (very) affordable price and comfort. For someone who enjoys driving, even we were surprised by how it felt, but it was particularly satisfying to wake up in the morning, call a driver within minutes and not have to worry about anything else regarding the journey from home to our place of work. Then, parking is no longer a concern. If, like us, you work in a paid parking area, not having to pay for a meter or walk 10 minutes to your building can only be considered one more advantage offered by using Bolt.

With a range of offerings, from cars with more than five seats, electric or from more luxurious segments, Bolt also offers options for customers with reduced mobility or for those who need to travel with children from the age of five.

From point A to point B, we have already listed some advantages, but what if we add a point C? We explain it better from a practical point of view. One day, we did the test of leaving work and stopping at a pharmacy before getting home. We enter the final destination and Bolt allows you to select a stopping point during the trip. In this type of trip, the driver goes straight to the stop and waits for you until you are dispatched. The good thing about this is that if you want to make a last minute stop you can do that too. Simply select a stopping point during your trip and your destination changes automatically, and there is, of course, an adjustment to the final price.

An (almost) perfect week?... One of the doubts we had before starting to use the Bolt was the waiting time and the acceptance by drivers. It's true that it's practically impossible to have a driver almost always within two minutes of where we are, but for a week, in terms of waiting time, we have nothing to complain about. The only regret was the difficulty in accepting a morning trip.

One of the days we were traveling from home to work, our trip was not being accepted by several drivers and time was passing. We decided to close the app and continue our journey in our car so that there would be no delays in arriving at work. A less positive situation in more than 20 trips made still seems to us to be a good average.

Finally, it is important to talk about the security that Bolt provides to its customers. During any trip, our location is tracked and at any time, whatever the situation, we have the possibility of contacting the authorities immediately.

After finishing using the Bolt, a week later, we woke up there and had to make our first trip, back to our everyday car. And the best summary we can make of this use is that instead of turning on the ignition of our car, we just wanted to open the app and buy a trip.

Mundoquatrorodas