How car-sharing firms check that the account holder is the one driving
After two eyewitness reports about a publicly known person allegedly driving a Bolt Drive car in Riga, Latvijas Avīze asked Bolt Drive and CityBee how they verify identity and driving rights. The companies described different checks and penalties for passing accounts to others.
In October, the Latvian news site LA.LV (Latvijas Avīze) received two unrelated eyewitness reports about a publicly known person, who had earlier come to police attention over a drink-driving crash, allegedly driving a Bolt Drive shared car in Riga. Readers asked whether this person still holds driving rights. The editorial team has no photos or video confirming the claims, so the person is not named. The paper approached car-sharing operators Bolt Drive and CityBee to find out how they screen users.
What witnesses reported
The first report came on 2 October: a reader said the person got into the driver's seat on Annas Street. A second witness described a similar scene on 16 October at about 16:20 at Krustpils Street 36.
Bolt Drive's checks
Bolt Drive's head in Latvia, Edvīns Kažoks, said that at registration a driving licence's validity is checked in the database of the Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD), and the app biometrically compares the customer's selfie with the licence photo. Users must be at least 20 with at least a year of driving experience. Handing an account to someone else is forbidden, and the company uses internal fraud-prevention algorithms whose parameters it does not disclose.
If account sharing is suspected, identity is rechecked. Passing an account on leads to a permanent block and a 250-euro contractual penalty; using someone else's identity carries up to 5,000 euros. Kažoks noted that sharing an account is not in itself a legal offence, but driving without proper rights is, and should be reported to police. The company gave no answer on the specific cases, citing data protection, and the State Police also did not confirm them.
CityBee's checks
CityBee requires a driving licence and identity check, using CSDD data and an additional verification system. Licence validity is checked automatically before use and periodically after account creation. The company acknowledged that cases of other people using accounts have been found; the penalty for passing on an account is 700 euros, with possible blocking.
