According to TechCentral, Bolt has extended its electric-vehicle (EV) ride category to Johannesburg, five months after the service began in Cape Town. The rollout is being carried out with the South African Meter Taxi and E-Hailing Association (Samtea), an affiliate of the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco). Bolt says it is targeting a fleet of 500 EVs in South Africa by December 2026.
Samtea will own and manage the EV fleet that operates on the Bolt platform, the ride-hailing company said. “The association will also invest in expanding the fleet over time, supporting the wider adoption of electric mobility and creating further opportunities for its members and drivers,” Bolt spokeswoman Romaana Sutton told the outlet. Samtea chairman Sibongiseni Shange added that cooperation between meter-taxi operators and e-hailing services is essential for a sustainable sector.
The Johannesburg vehicles are BYD Dolphin Surfs, supplied by the Chinese manufacturer BYD. The model was launched locally in September 2025 with a price tag of R339 900. The EV category is already running in Sandton, on routes to and from OR Tambo International Airport, and in parts of Johannesburg East. Rides are priced slightly above Bolt’s Standard category, Sutton said.
Bolt, which entered South Africa as Taxify in 2016, said in May it had invested R3-billion in the country over the past decade. The company also reported that drivers have earned more than R42.3-billion on the platform since 2016. In Cape Town, the fleet is supplied and managed by YugoRide, a local partner that was not involved in the Johannesburg launch.
Sector context
The move comes as rival ride-hailing platform Uber is also expanding its electric fleet in Johannesburg. Uber launched its EV service in November 2025 with 70 cars from Valternative Energy and pledged to have 350 cars by the end of January 2026. By the end of March, Uber said the service had more than 120 vehicles operating in Sandton and surrounding areas, although it declined to give a current figure for this month.
Relations between meter-taxi drivers and e-hailing operators have been strained for years. In 2016, a group of meter-taxi drivers assaulted Gauteng transport MEC Ismail Vadi after he announced licensing for Uber drivers. The following year, taxi drivers blocked highways around OR Tambo in protest against Uber. More recent incidents include two e-hailing drivers being shot at and their cars torched in August 2025, an event for which the taxi industry was suspected but denied involvement. Santaco later pledged to work “harmoniously” with e-hailing drivers after the National Land Transport Amendment Act recognised e-hailing as a mode of public transport.
For drivers, the EV rollout offers a potential cost advantage. Electric cars have lower fuel and maintenance costs compared with conventional vehicles, and Bolt’s pricing structure suggests a modest premium for the service. Samtea’s ownership of the fleet means that drivers do not need to purchase the vehicles themselves, reducing the barrier to entry for members of the association.
What remains unclear is the exact number of EVs currently operating in Johannesburg. Bolt declined to disclose city-by-city fleet figures, stating that the rollout is being expanded in partnership with local fleet operators. The company’s target of 500 EVs by the end of 2026 provides a timeline, but progress toward that goal will depend on vehicle availability, charging infrastructure and the pace of driver adoption.
For readers tracking the evolving mobility landscape, the partnership illustrates how traditional taxi bodies are seeking to stay relevant by embracing electric technology and collaborating with digital platforms. The development also adds pressure on other operators to accelerate their own EV programmes, as the market for low-emission ride-hailing services gains momentum in South Africa.
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