As an American in a relatively large city this sounds pretty normal but instead of Uber and Bolt it's Uber and Lyft. I think the only real difference is that Lyft (at least in my case) doesn't seem prone to charging if I cancel when they're clearly not coming
The special hell of Bolt, Europe's Uber clone
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Re: The special hell of Bolt, Europe's Uber clone
#12Sadly I have encountered this on multiple different kinds of European tech platforms. There is some deep cultural disconnect on understanding how/why American tech companies are successful.
Most often they seem to ape most of major US tech platforms functionality but critically somehow miss the "make something people want" and instead make something that:
- Sort of works? Has all the major screens but the whole experience just feels off and not well thought out.
- Is basically a way for locals to prey on tourists. Or is easily abused to scam etc.
Bluntly that is not a viable business model. Additionally tourism as a whole will not build a durable and innovative economy.
There is this distinct disinterest in serving the customer. Making the experience delightful, frictionless, feeling good is oddly foreign. I basically gave up trying to use local things unless I have to because when things go poorly customer support is basically non-existent.
I know Uber, AirBnb etc for better or worse. I don't want to deal with whatever surprising edge case or unexpectedly subpar experience is normed on the local platforms.
Re: The special hell of Bolt, Europe's Uber clone
#13Side note: always check uber and bolt, whenever both are available. Price differences are pretty big at times.
If the OP is to be believed, there might be a good reason for the price difference...
Re: The special hell of Bolt, Europe's Uber clone
#14> I arrived in Lyon recently and figured, hey, this is Europe, why not try the European app again, and used Bolt. A bit off topic but IMHO your first thought should instead be: "hey, this is Europe, why not try the train?" In Lyon, the train from the airport to the city takes half an hour, same as a car. My guess is that you'll have a vastly better experience than taking the train in North America, and also a better…
Having a train from the airport isn't a given in most US cities.
Lyon is not in the US.
Re: The special hell of Bolt, Europe's Uber clone
#15Have used Bolt in Malta hundreds of times with no issues. But in France it’s the same disaster for me as well. Not sure why.
Re: The special hell of Bolt, Europe's Uber clone
#16Had no issues with bolt so far tbh. But had issues with Uber drivers canceling a few times. I guess it all depends on the country and luck.
Re: The special hell of Bolt, Europe's Uber clone
#17Sadly I have encountered this on multiple different kinds of European tech platforms. There is some deep cultural disconnect on understanding how/why American tech companies are successful. Most often they seem to ape most of major US tech platforms functionality but critically somehow miss the "make something people want" and instead make something that: - Sort of works? Has all the major screens but the whole exper…
It's interesting to claim that tourism in Europe won't be "durable" at a moment when tourism in the US is sharply declining..
Anyway, Booking.com is a European company and has many more customers than AirBnB.
Re: The special hell of Bolt, Europe's Uber clone
#18Bolt in Portugal works much better than Uber (more drivers, lower prices)
Re: The special hell of Bolt, Europe's Uber clone
#19Re: The special hell of Bolt, Europe's Uber clone
#20Reminds me of trying to book an e-bike in Paris in early 2020 - the app would only accept European credit cards so I was never able to get one!
i have worked in bike sharing, though not in paris, visa and mastercard were easy to work with but amex had exorbitant costs so we worked without amex