Bolt reviews
What users love and hate, from real reviews
A budget ride-hailing, car-rental and scooter app for price-sensitive riders, perpetually undermined by flaky drivers and a bot-only support desk.
What users love
When it works — cheap, fast and pleasant
Riders who get lucky praise the low price, fast pickup, clean comfortable cars and friendly drivers — rating Bolt above Uber on price and ease.
so much better than Uber .. cheaper and faster and easier app
fast like lightning bolt, reliable and affordable rides
clean car and I can recommend Bolt to my friends as well. Keep up the good work guys! Thank you.
Precise pickup location — the bit drivers actually value
For some users the pickup precision is the standout: Bolt hands the driver an accurate pick-up point better than rival apps.
this is the one app that gives drivers precise pick-up location. it's amazing.
fast and reliable the driver knew how to read the map he didn't waste any time
Good price and super clean UI! In Malaysia, definitely competitive to GRxB
What users hate
Driver accepts, then cancels — over and over
The single most common complaint: drivers accept, stall, then cancel — sometimes two minutes away from you. Riders miss meetings, trains and clinic appointments.
He was on his way to pick me up and canceled it two minutes from me! Wasting my time and making me miss my appointment
tried to get a fare to the airport, accepted 6 times, cancelled 6 times in 15 minutes
took me 4 drivers to cancel my ride and 25 minutes and i still didn't get a ride. I'm late for a very important meeting because of this stupid app
Scheduled rides silently collapse at the last minute
A ride booked hours ahead gets confirmed, sometimes even shows 'driver found' — then cancels at the scheduled moment with no warning, leaving people stranded.
Twice now the app has let me schedule a ride and twice it has failed to find a driver, at the very last minute.
Don't use the scheduled ride service, Bolt claimed to have a driver available for pick up at the scheduled time then suddenly cancelled the ride as we got to the pick up time.
Booked a scheduled ride, twice the regular price. No driver showed up, the ride was silently dismissed at the last moment, totally ruining my plans.
Wait-time fees turn into a money grab
Drivers game the wait-time clock: they mark 'arrived' before reaching you and rack up minutes. Fines kick in after 5 minutes — and the app won't even let you call the driver.
They will fine you 6 euros if the driver waits more than 5 minutes. It happened to me 2 times in one day. I even tried to call the driver but the app is so bad the call didn't get through.
He set that he was arrived on the apps while he was never really reach the pickup point.. All those just for waiting charged fee
be careful with wait time, every driver interpretation of "Waiting" before they charge you varies so they can get extra money out of you
Support is a bot that resolves nothing
When something goes wrong, all you get is an AI bot: cold hallucinated replies instead of help, refunds refused even with photo evidence, and no human anywhere.
Customer support doesn't work, there is only a dumb AI bot.
Only support is an AI bot that responds with cold hallucinated gibberish.
i get hassled over 10 euro on an incorrect order which i have to reorder anyway while the correct items get cold
Drivers extort extra cash beyond the app price
Once you're in the car, the driver declares the app price too low and demands extra cash — or threatens to drop you off. Cash off-app, no record.
Drivers won't carry if you won't pay more than what is stated in the app
almost dropped me in the middle of the road because he insisted what the app had indicated as cost wa way below his expectation
bolt drivers needs to stop asking for more/ extra money as of what is indicated in the app
Charged upfront, refunds are a quest
Payment is taken before the trip and often above the quote; the promised '3-day reversal' becomes a double charge refunded two weeks later — if at all.
they charge you before your ride is even started. and that also extra. later they say that the extra charged amount will be reversed to your account within 3 working days. but NO IT WONT !!!
was charged morethan expected. disount did not apply. was charged full amount highest on the rage BEFORE RIDING. Support can't help.
The payment was made and I didn't get the refund. Opened a case for the refund, and they told me that the driver was waiting, which was false.
Driver goes to the wrong place — or the wrong pickup
The car shows up at a spot you didn't choose and the wait fee starts; flaky GPS scrambles destinations, and you can be dropped off far from home, luggage and all.
driver's often show up at the wrong pick up point and also cancel. They begin charging you if you're not at the pick up they decided to show up at, not the one you chose.
left me 16 minutes away from my place even after I told him the address was wrong. I came from the airport. With luggage. Had to walk in the heat.
Unfriendly UI. Often messes up destinations as GPS is a joke for this app
Rude drivers and dirty cars
Rudeness, reckless driving, running red lights, and being thrown out for the mildest complaint. Cabins can be filthy, and support won't help swap the car.
Very Rude driver 😒
driver rude, even ask to get out from his car.
Lately the Bolt drive cars in Prague are often disgustingly dirty and the support is unable/unwilling to deal with the situation or a book another car to manage a switch.
Scooters: surprise restricted zones and parking fines
A scooter unlocks normally, then a zone restriction pops up — trapping you with a fine. Parking spots and a ride-style score only add frustration.
first it unlocked the scooter as usual - and only after shown the warning. I was trapped in a suddenly restricted area, with a scooter that was not working , with no parking anywhere close
I wish they had a scooter only app so I can give that a 1/5 for parking headaches.
the app penalized me and reduced my score for doing so. Please ensure that the scooters have properly adjusted brakes
Can't sign up: the verification code never arrives
New users get stuck at the door: the SMS and call codes never come through and there's no help — the app fails before the first ride.
it keeps saying it's sending a verification code, but I don't get anything
I've just downloaded it and it is refusing to give me the code
The verification codes (both text and call) to create an account won't go through. And there's no help support option.