Two young women were left with horrific injuries after a Bolt driver allegedly attacked them with a knife.
Keep The Energy’s Michael van Niekerk says the suspect attacked the passengers on 4 May in Table View, after apparently refusing to drop the group off at their destination.
Van Niekerk says: “A Bolt driver stabbed two female passengers on Saturday, 4 May in Table View.
“The driver allegedly refused to drop the group of friends at their requested location.
“He allegedly started hitting the person in the passenger seat, a fight erupted, the car stopped, and the group of friends ran away.
“The driver then allegedly ran after them and stabbed two of the women.”
One of the victims posted photos of their horrific injuries on Instagram, showing deep gashes on their backs and lower abdomen. The woman said yesterday she was still too traumatised to speak.
The driver has been identified as Benedict driving a silver Honda BR-V.
Van Niekerk says they were concerned about attacks on women using Bolt.
He adds: “Bolt has responded under her post saying that the driver has been blocked and they are investigating.
“At Keep The Energy, we are incredibly concerned about this because of how frequently Bolt drivers attack and assault customers, but what's more worrying is that it seems as if Bolt is not doing much to prevent it.
“At Keep The Energy, we were approached by a person working for Bolt in April 2022 who wanted us to be a part of a Bolt Safety Campaign.
“We declined because passengers shouldn't be equipped with safety tips, but rather, the drivers should not be dangerous, violent people.”
Bolt PR Manager Sandra Buyole said they were aware and “deeply disturbed“ by the Table View incident involving one of their drivers.
He says: “We regard such conduct as completely unacceptable.
“Our team has reached out to the rider to offer support and find out what support she requires, which includes face to face counselling.
“Our Customer Support Team Lead for Safety will also be travelling to Cape Town to pay a courtesy to express our sympathy over the incident that has occurred.
“Upon learning of the incident, Bolt immediately took action to block the driver from the platform while a thorough investigation is conducted.
“We take the safety of passengers and drivers that use the platform very seriously and have zero tolerance for any violence that happens during or around a ride made possible by our platform.
“We are fully cooperating with local authorities in their investigation of the incident and will take all necessary steps to prevent such occurrences in the future.”
SAPS spokesperson FC van Wyk said that a case of assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm (GBH) has been made at Table View SAPS.
“The driver wanted to drop them off at a fuel station near the entrance to Dunoon, as he said it was unsafe for him... When he asked for payment, the application did not accept the payment and the driver was asked to take them to an ATM.
“The payment was made and when the victims asked for change, the driver drove to Table View SAPS. He was told to take the clients to the address they asked to be dropped.
“The driver left the station with all the passengers but did not take them to Dunoon. An argument ensued, and when the occupants wanted to get out, the driver allegedly stabbed two passengers aged 21 and 20 (both female).
Van Wyk said no arrest have been made as yet.