Safer Nights, Smarter Choices: How Ride-Hailing Is Reshaping Drunk-Driving Behavior in South Africa

As South Africa enters its most travel-intensive and high-risk period of the year, new data reveals a quiet but significant shift in how people are choosing to move, one that could have lasting implications for road safety and drunk driving.

Since 1 December, traffic authorities have arrested 1,478 motorists for drunk driving during nationwide operations, as the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) and AWARE.org rolled out a zero-tolerance festive season campaign. With a surge in nightlife, concerts, airport arrivals, and intercity travel, the festive season remains one of the most dangerous times on South Africa’s roads.

Bolt commissioned a Safety Index report, which revealed a striking shift in public sentiment around night-time travel. The survey showed that 92% of South African passengers feel safer using ride-hailing apps when travelling at night. For many riders, particularly women, young adults, and urban commuters, ride-hailing offers peace of mind in situations where public transport may be unreliable or driving oneself poses increased risk.

The new insights suggest that more South Africans are actively choosing safer alternatives. According to Bolt’s Safety Perception Survey, 36% of South Africans now rely on ride-hailing as a safer alternative to drunk driving. This points to a meaningful behavioral shift, where digital mobility platforms are influencing real-world safety outcomes at scale during a period traditionally marked by increased risk.

“Festive season travel comes with heightened pressure; longer nights, unfamiliar routes, and more social activity,” says Simo Kalajdzic, Senior Operations Manager at Bolt South Africa. “What we are seeing is that more South Africans are making deliberate, responsible choices by opting for ride-hailing instead of getting behind the wheel after drinking. This shift is critical, not just for individual safety, but for reducing overall road risk during peak travel periods.”

These findings reinforce what mobility experts have long anticipated: when transportation becomes digitised, safety becomes trackable, transparent, and measurable. Ride-hailing platforms provide safeguards that traditional transport options often lack, including driver identification and verification, real-time GPS tracking, live route visibility, trip sharing, and door-to-door convenience that reduces exposure to unsafe public spaces. These features have made app-based rides the default option for late-night travel, particularly among tech-savvy urban users driving South Africa’s December social calendar.

This shift is not only behavioral, it is infrastructural. Platforms like Bolt have embedded safety directly into their systems, reducing reliance on trust alone and increasing accountability for both riders and drivers. Bolt’s in-app safety features include emergency assistance tools, trip monitoring, vetted drivers, in-app reporting mechanisms, and a newly introduced dash cam feature for drivers, which adds an additional layer of transparency and protection.

“Safety should never be optional,” adds Kalajdzic. “It has to be built into the experience from start to finish, especially during periods when the risks are highest.”

For a season historically associated with impaired driving, overcrowded transport hubs, and increased road fatalities, the growing adoption of ride-hailing as a safety mechanism signals meaningful progress. The conversation around urban mobility is evolving and moving beyond convenience to focus on public health, predictability, and protection.

Bolt urges South Africans to plan ahead, make use of ride-hailing services after social events, and actively use in-app safety features throughout the festive season. This December, safer roads begin with smarter travel choices, and technology is helping make those choices easier.

Source: Briefly News