It’s been three weeks since Taxify rebranded as Bolt. But the company and, especially, its users, are still adapting to life under the new name.
The Estonian company announced the rebranding on March 7 as the number two ride hailing company in Nigeria aims to pursue a more integrated transport that includes not just ride hailing, but electric scooters.
But why the change from Taxify to Bolt? How’s that working out? And how did users react to the change?
Here’s what we found.
Unsurprisingly, majority of users found the name change odd. But then again, who wouldn’t? The change from Taxify, which sounded “taxi market friendly”, to Bolt definitely caught users unaware.
So the popular reaction from customers have been quite comical.
@Boltapp_ng thinks they can just change like that ni???
They should go and ask NEPA
TAXIFY i know…. Bolt, who art thou?
— K A Y S A X (@olukay99) March 9, 2019
Y did taxify change their name to bolt tho?, which kin dead name be that😒
— S🖤 (@realbaddie_jay) March 9, 2019
https://twitter.com/NkanyeziKubheka/status/1110493458857373696
Me: Orders for Bolt (Formerly called Taxify).
Arrives after 10 minutes for a 40 minutes normal drive.
Bolt Driver: At your service, sire.
Me: You're already here? Just now? You sure "U sane", Bolt? Because that was freaking fast. #TaxifyGoesBolt@Boltapp_ng pic.twitter.com/gJwAdChcYP
— maziibe.eth (@maziibe_) March 8, 2019
https://twitter.com/0Kvys/status/1103765702761213957
I’m still learning to call Etisalat 9 Mobile and Taxify is changing to Bolt … These people want to kill somebody
— ODOGWU (@callmeuchay) March 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/Kaypoisson1/status/1103671262042296320
https://twitter.com/Kaypoisson1/status/1103669536811896832
https://twitter.com/Kaypoisson1/status/1103669536811896832
Bae mistakenly sees your questionable WhatsApp chat with another girl, gets angry, picks her phone and threatens to leave
"Let me order a bolt!" she exclaims
A minute later thunder starts striking outside your house
Taxify please take back your name 😭🙏
— Roké (@chimarokay) March 8, 2019
1. Bolt is a generic word that has been used and over used. It will take a huge marketing spend to get people to associate it with taxify and ridesharing.
2. I expect a drop in revenue and app usage. https://t.co/PWtQN0m3Yv
— Bayomi (@SemudaraAbayomi) March 9, 2019
Bae mistakenly sees your questionable WhatsApp chat with another girl, gets angry, picks her phone and threatens to leave
"Let me order a bolt!" she exclaims
A minute later thunder starts striking outside your house
Taxify please take back your name 😭🙏
— Roké (@chimarokay) March 8, 2019
PiggyBank changed name to PiggyVest
Taxify also transformed to Bolt.Just an observation…
— Hamed (@TheHMD_) March 9, 2019
But the rebranding wasn’t all fun though. Many users who had negative experiences with Taxify raised valid questions. Over the last few years the company has operated in Nigeria, users have complained particularly of unsavory or bad practices by drivers under the platform. Users wanted to know if the name change would impact these issues and make them go away.
What’s your opinion on the idea that Taxify has rebranded to Bolt? #TaxifyGoesBolt
— Janet Machuka (@janetmachuka_) March 7, 2019
Taxify is now Bolt. Putting cheap lipstick on a pig cannot make it compete for Miss Nigeria.
— King Jo, The 🏃♂️🏃♂️ (@je_mc2) March 7, 2019
So Taxify is now called Bolt.
Hope this is more than just rebranding. You can't paint a delapidated building hoping to hide the cracks.It's gonna need some work from the inside. No "cheap ride" can mask poor management & operations.
— Theodorah Manjo †♡ (@MissManjo) March 8, 2019
https://twitter.com/iamnatasharyder/status/1104458021101543424
PiggyBank changed name to PiggyVest
Taxify also transformed to Bolt.Just an observation…
— Hamed (@TheHMD_) March 9, 2019
Taxify changed its name to Bolt. I hope its more than just a name change, because it's reputation wasn't good anymore.
— Ngoana 🥺 (@suga_Ridge) March 9, 2019
Other users, some of them “paid influencers”, took out time to educate people on the rebranding.
Why the change of name?
The brand have outgrown the name, “Taxify” as it stands now, they do more than just taxiSo with Bolt they can carry out wonderful services and do more in solving transportation issues.
Go with BOLT#TaxifyGoesBolt pic.twitter.com/M4767qIOoZ
— AUNTY ADA (@Auntyadaa) March 9, 2019
https://twitter.com/TheLazywrita/status/1104374827346022404
https://twitter.com/MrOlayinkaa/status/1104371551342944259
https://twitter.com/Queenyetty1_/status/1104368427974750208
https://twitter.com/Queenyetty1_/status/1104368427974750208
Regardless of how users are Reacting to it, Taxify rebranding to Bolt is poised to make the company stronger. However, there’s no guarantee that the issues raised by users will be addressed solely on the strength of a name change. Going forward though, we’ll monitor the progress achieved and keep updating our readers with latest information.
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