Bolt, others may commence NIN verification for passengers by Q4 2025- spokesperson

Bolt, one of the major ride-hailing companies in Nigeria, has hinted that NIN verification for riders could begin by the fourth quarter of 2025. This was disclosed by the company’s Senior Public Policy Manager, Weyinmi Aghadiuno, during a media parley on safety in Lagos.

Speaking about the regulatory side of safety, she noted that her company is constantly engaging with regulators for policies to safeguard the industry.

One such policy is the rider verification, a regulation she says the company has been pushing for its industry-wide application alongside the driver’s union, AUATON.

“This is something we have been pushing alongside the drivers’ union. We have engaged the Lagos State Government. We are discussing with the Ministry of Transport to make a regulation that cuts across the board. So by Q3 or Q4, you should see a lot of sensitisation going out to passengers, letting them know this is what is coming their way,” she said.

Noting that NIN verification is expected to begin in Lagos, she revealed that the state is taking it a step further by prescribing NIN verification/identification for public transport, so it cuts across the public transport system in the State.

She further expressed optimism that as Lagos State pushes it out, other cities will witness mass adoptions as well.

This satisfies drivers’ long clamour for e-hailing companies like Uber, Bolt and inDrive to verify passengers using their National Identification Number (NIN). According to them, this will guarantee that riders are traceable and ensure drivers’ safety.

Recall that in 2023, after three e-hailing drivers registered under the Uber and Bolt platforms were reportedly shot dead by gunmen in Port Harcourt and Abuja, the President of AUATON, Comrade Adedamola Adeniran, called for NIN verification, noting that it would prevent future attacks on members.

“As a registered trade union with the responsibility to protect our members against preventable circumstances like this, we are making a call on the government to, as a matter of urgency, direct the Ministry of Transport, Science, and Digital Economy or any relevant ministry to direct these app companies to capture National Identity Number of the passenger before ordering a ride,” he said.

So, this ought to come as exciting news to drivers, seeing how all-important this issue is to them.

See also: Uber and Bolt drivers call for NIN verification of passengers after 3 drivers reportedly shot dead

Bolt’s previous NIN verification attempts

This is not the first time Bolt has announced NIN verification for riders. In 2023, the company announced that it would start NIN verification the following year (2024).

At that time, the country manager, Yahaya Mohammed, announced that the company would launch random selfie verification for drivers and added that there was a need to balance driver verification with rider verification.

“In terms of major plans for 2024, we are looking to rider verifications to ensure that we also know who our riders are and authenticate anybody who is registering on the platform. This year, we focused on verifying our drivers to know who they are. Next year will be about knowing who our riders are and making sure the platform is safe for both our riders and drivers,” Yahaya Mohammed said.

Senior Public Policy Manager, Weyinmi Aghadiuno, noted that the previous attempt was halted for business considerations and the need for industry-wide regulation.

“Why we must get our regulators involved, regardless of what we’re doing on the platform, is to ensure that it is across the board. So, if Bolt, for example, implements rider verification and we make it compulsory, and all the other operators are not doing it, what happens? The passengers just move to a different platform,” she said.

Responding to a Technext query on the matter, Country Manager, Osi Oguah, noted that because people are generally not comfortable giving their data out, it wouldn’t make good business sense to be the only platform demanding it from them.

“We can decide to go alone and do it, but if we do it, we are essentially moving our market to other platforms, and that doesn’t solve the safety issue in the industry,” he explained.

While admitting that the way to solve the problem is to connect to a database like BVN and NIN, he noted that it requires collaboration with the government to use public data and approach enforcement from a policy standpoint.

“We like to be pioneers in engaging the government and pushing for industry-focused, industry-defining policies, not just for ourselves. Because of that, we are saying we need to have that engagement with the government, where we have that policy, and we have it across the board. When we have it across the board where the driver is verified and the rider is verified, automatically everybody is safer because a rider that wants to be a bad actor knows that his details are there and he will get caught,” he noted.

He also pointed out that such a major safety guarantee would make more people want to use ride-hailing services, which would be great for the industry in general.