A Quality Assessment of Bolt E-hailing Service Delivery in Rural Towns. A Case Study of Thohoyandou, South Africa
Abstract:
E-hailing sector is one of the fastest-growing sectors globally due to the rapid expansion of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the transportation sector. E-hailing has revolutionized the way people travel contributing to the idea of “Sharing” instead of “Owning” vehicles. In South Africa, one of the fastest-growing e-hailing service providers are Bolt, which has doubled its operational footprint over the past few years, to include rural towns such as Thohoyandou in the Limpopo province of South Africa. However, e-hailing service provision comes with its own challenges, particularly in South Africa where passengers are supposed to be ‘on high alert’ when riding e-haling transport. The study assessed the quality of Bolt Service delivery in Thohoyandou town. A mixed-methods approach was employed to (i) Map the coverage of Bolt service in Thohoyandou; (ii) To assess the quality of Bolt service delivery and (iii) To recommend suggestions for improving the quality of Bolt service delivery in Thohoyandou town. Primary data was collected through key informant interviews; field observations and the distribution of 274 questionnaires. The Service quality model (SERVQUAL) was employed to assess the quality of Bolt service delivery. The study results indicated that Bolt passengers' perceptions of the quality of service they are receiving is lower than their expectations in all the SERVQUAL model's five quality dimensions. Furthermore, some factors hindering the quality of Bolt service delivery outlined include: (i) Illegal practices by Bolt drivers such as demanding exorbitant trip fares more than the stipulated ones; Impersonation of online Bolt driver profiles; (ii) Mistreatment of passengers by Bolt drivers; (iii) Inadequate online and physical platforms for passengers to raise queries; and an inefficient existing regulatory framework. The study suggested recommendations towards an e-hailing implementation framework that enhances the quality of Bolt service provision particularly in small rural towns.
