Taxi demand in Kyiv during prolonged air alerts exceeds available driver numbers – Uklon, Bolt

Demand for taxi services in Kyiv during prolonged air raid alerts has exceeded the number of available drivers, preventing operators from fulfilling some ride requests, according to Uklon and Bolt. The imbalance is attributed to security risks, difficult traffic conditions, GPS navigation disruptions, and rising fuel and vehicle maintenance costs, which discourage drivers from going online and reduce the share of completed rides.

To address GPS navigation disruptions caused by electronic warfare systems, Uklon and Bolt have enabled drivers to manually adjust their geolocation, which has brought some drivers back to the app and reduced waiting times and unfulfilled requests. However, the feature cannot fully offset the impact of air alerts and other external factors.

Uklon also allows passengers to check and adjust their pickup location when placing an order, and the company is researching and testing technological solutions to improve navigation. Additionally, a memorandum has been signed by Ukraine's Ministry for Communities and Territories Development and the Ministry of Economy and Environment with digital platforms Bolt, Uklon, Uber, and OPTI to prevent critical increases in transport fares in Kyiv during air alerts, public transport shutdowns, or other logistics-related force majeure situations in the capital.

Brief written by urgent.news from Interfax-Ukraine's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.