“Demand is very high. We continue to strive for growth, and more driver training will begin in early September. We have thousands of trips monthly, but we have double or triple the demand and can't always meet it,” Mário de Morais of Bolt Portugal told Lusa.

The company, which provides individual and paid passenger transportation in unmarked vehicles using an electronic platform (TVDE), arrived in the Azores in March.

It began on the island of São Miguel, expanded its operations to Terceira Island in May, and now hopes to expand to a third island, possibly Faial or Pico.

"We had planned to try to expand a little further by the end of the year, but we'll see if that's possible. Our goal is to have at least 100 drivers in the Autonomous Region of the Azores by the end of the year and operate on at least three islands," revealed Mário de Morais.

Currently, Bolt's platform has 30 vehicles registered on São Miguel and Terceira, making "thousands of trips every month."

The first six months of operation "exceeded the company's expectations," not only due to customer demand but also driver demand.

"We held an awareness campaign with the Institute of Employment and Vocational Training in Ponta Delgada, which received a massive response from people who want to learn about the profession and realize that it offers an alternative or a way to supplement their income," Mário de Morais emphasized.

In addition to TVDE vehicles, the Bolt app also offers taxi options in the Azores.

"We're here to complement the taxi sector, which also does excellent work and has already started to join us," the company's director noted.

Entering the Azores market, therefore, occurred without conflicts with the traditional passenger transportation sector.

"The associations themselves realize that we're here to help taxi drivers and don't place any restrictions on our entry," explained Mário de Morais.

According to the Bolt director, with the increase in tourists in the Azores, more and more customers are turning to digital platforms, regardless of whether the service is provided by TVDE or taxi.

The Azores were the last region in the country to have Bolt, which was partly justified by the legislation applied in the region.

Among the archipelago's requirements is the mandatory use of electric vehicles and specific training for drivers.

"Since the sector didn't exist, there were no prepared training institutions. We had to work with the training institutions to create a TVDE course and then teach classes to ensure that people completed the course and passed the exams," explained Mário de Morais.

The Bolt boss understands, however, the stricter restrictions, considering the size of the archipelago and the fact that it promotes green tourism.

"It makes sense, because we're talking about islands, about limited regions, and it seems to me that we learned good lessons that will probably be reflected later on the mainland as well," he emphasized.

Expanding to more islands will depend on the drivers' willingness, but Mário de Morais believes it will eventually happen.

"It could be with taxis and not TVDE, but what matters is that the customer has the mobility option on the platform," he argued.