Bolt offers to help get Londoners to vaccine appointments in the capital

Bolt says its 50,000 drivers in London are on standby to help with the vaccination effort.

Bolt, one of London’s biggest ride-hailing platforms, is appealing for the UK government to take up its offer to provide free transport to help Londoners travel to Covid-19 vaccine hubs – with an initial pledge of £250,000 worth of rides.

As the UK government aims to fulfil its ambition of vaccinating the top four priority groups by mid-February, Bolt is offering to pick up the bill of transporting people to get their jabs.

Bolt says it has offered its services to the government and NHS London. It is urging the relevant authorities to get in touch to confirm logistics and ensure the scheme is up and running as soon as possible. The platform says it is also interested in hearing from any third-party organisations involved in the mass roll-out who may also benefit from free transport.

While Bolt is donating an initial £250,000 worth of free rides, the platform says that any companies or organisations who wish to fund further free rides for people in priority need of the coronavirus vaccine should also get in touch.

“This vaccine is key to restoring our lives back to normal – to return to work, to school, to socialising and to get our economies moving again,” said Markus Villig, Bolt’s co-founder and CEO.

“At Bolt, we’re keen to do whatever it takes to help the UK government with its ambitious vaccine roll-out targets, and we hope they take us up on our offer.”

Sam Raciti, Bolt’s UK General Manager added: “We know Londoners are desperate to enjoy their incredible city again, to see loved ones and to support the economy.

“The vaccines appear to be the way out of this crisis so as a business committed to London and the UK, we want to do our bit to help beat this horrible virus and set London free again in 2021.

“This week, the government announced London’s ExCel centre as the biggest vaccine hub in London, and we’re sure there will be other sites added to the list in due course – our 50,000 drivers in London are here and ready to help get people to these sites for their vaccinations.”