The head of Ride-hailing at Bolt in Portugal, Mário de Morais, stated that the company aims to resume its services “very soon,” though he did not specify a date. He noted that there are “some procedural and bureaucratic issues” that are not solely dependent on Bolt.
“We maintained our service in Madeira for a long time. However, clarifications were necessary, and both the taxi associations and the regulatory body, Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes, requested some information from us, bringing us to a point where everyone is comfortable,” he explained.
Mário de Morais mentioned that the president of Antral (Associação Nacional dos Transportes Rodoviários em Automóveis Ligeiros), initially hesitant, “now sees it favorably, as long as the discussed rules are followed.”
“This is the revival of a strategy that Bolt had to integrate all shared mobility on one platform. We made significant changes but are now able to resume this project, which had many hundreds of registered taxi drivers last year, prior to the suspension of our activity,” he stated.
One of the necessary changes involved tariffs, specifically where and how taximeters and the “famous contract tariff” would apply.
“The regulator, after hearing both the taxi associations and Bolt, provided us with clear operational guidelines: we will now mainly operate with a taximeter,” the official clarified.
In Madeira, where Bolt’s service is available, more than 200 taxi drivers are registered, and Mário de Morais believes that the platform will “far exceed” this number on the mainland. The goal is to “reach thousands of taxi drivers by the end of the year,” considering the mainland’s size.
He views the taxi sector as a “great complement to shared mobility platforms,” benefitting both clients with an additional relevant service that complements TVDE and taxi drivers with an added opportunity for their usual activities.
“This aligns with Bolt’s strategy: we aim for people to leave their [personal] cars in daily life. It must be a combination of public transportation and shared transportation, including taxis and TVDE,” he emphasized, pointing out that “nobody wants to spend 45 minutes stuck in traffic, moving slower than walking.”
Mário de Morais also referenced a European study, which included Portugal, highlighting that younger generations are moving away from car ownership, viewing the TVDE sector as an option.
“This is a trend we’ve anticipated; younger generations are accustomed to shared transportation from an early age, so when they turn 18, they reconsider the costs of obtaining a license, buying a car, and maintenance,” he explained.
According to the study, conducted by market research firm Ipsos Morri in collaboration with Bolt, 55% of people aged 18 to 40 “used a TVDE app at least once last year,” compared to 37% of those aged 41 to 75.
Among Portuguese respondents, 45% cited convenience as their reason for using TVDE, followed by avoiding parking concerns (29%) and saving time (28%).
The study also revealed that 49% of those aged 18 to 40 own a car, contrasted with 67% among those aged 41 to 75. Generational differences are even more pronounced, with 36% of Generation Z (born in the late 1990s) reporting car ownership, compared to 67% between Generation X (born 1965-1980) and Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964).
Bolt, founded in Estonia in 2013 under the name Taxify to connect taxis to clients, rebranded in 2019 to expand into the market, not only as a TVDE but also into other micromobility forms.
