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inDrive Unveils International Social Initiative Against Bullying
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A social initiative to encourage parents to pay closer attention to their children’s emotional well-being and create space for open conversations has been launched by a global mobility and delivery platform, inDrive.
It is based on inDrive’s Cancel the School Trip campaign, first launched in Kazakhstan in April 2026.
Encouraged by the significant public interest in the project, inDrive intends to roll out the initiative across other markets within its global presence, including Nigeria.
As part of the initiative, users taking morning rides to school received a push notification asking whether they wanted to cancel the trip after the ride had already started. The message appeared to be an app error, but in reality, it served as a communication trigger — a way to pull parents out of their daily routine and redirect their attention to their child’s emotional state.
School bullying remains one of the most widespread — and at the same time one of the least visible — issues affecting teenagers worldwide. According to UNICEF, millions of children regularly experience bullying, yet many never speak about it to adults.
“We need to talk to children more often. Not just ask How are you? But genuinely notice their emotional state, mood, and changes in behaviour. Sometimes, even a short conversation can help identify a problem a child may be afraid to talk about,” the Country Lead for inDrive Nigeria, Mr Timothy Oladimeji, stated.
The symbol of the campaign became the back seat of a car — a space where parent and child are alone together and can talk without distractions. The organisers believe there is not always a need to create entirely new communication rituals; sometimes, it is enough to pay more attention to moments that already exist in everyday life. Even a few minutes of conversation on the way to school can help a child feel heard and safe enough to share their concerns.
In addition to digital tools, installations shaped like car seats were placed across Almaty in shopping malls and at busy city intersections. As part of the initiative, an online platform with practical recommendations for parents was also developed together with child psychologists.
The platform includes materials on recognising signs of bullying, starting difficult conversations with children, and supporting them in challenging situations.
The campaign was followed by a roundtable discussion in Kazakhstan that brought together psychologists, parents, influencers, and representatives of the creative industry. Participants discussed why bullying often remains hidden, how teenage aggression is evolving and which communication approaches help build trust between adults and children.
A separate part of the discussion focused on how to talk to children about difficult emotions and experiences. According to psychologist Kseniya Lych, standard questions are often ineffective because children answer them automatically. Instead, prompts involving imagination and open-ended thinking tend to reduce tension and encourage dialogue.
The initiative received strong public attention and positive feedback from parents, psychologists and the professional community. As a result, inDrive is already planning to expand the campaign to other markets where it operates, adapting it to each country’s local context.
“We see that bullying is an equally painful issue across different countries and cultures. That is why we want to develop this initiative internationally and launch similar projects in other inDrive markets. For us, it is important not only to raise awareness about the problem, but also to help parents pay closer attention to their children’s emotional well-being and start conversations in time,” says Yevgeniy Gavrilchenko, co-author of the idea and Creative Lead at inLab by inDrive.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The corporate mobility solution from Bolt, Bolt Business, has expressed its desire to strengthen relationships with existing customers in Nigeria by introducing solutions tailored to industries with frequent employee mobility needs, including healthcare, financial services, legal services and logistics.
This is as the organisation, over the past 12 months, delivered double-digit growth in the country, driven by expanding adoption across multiple industries, growing demand from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and an increasing number of firms seeking cost-efficient alternatives to managing in-house transport fleets.
The Country Manager for Bolt for Business Nigeria, Mr Isaac Iroko, disclosed that the smarter mobility solutions being planned will improve visibility, simplify expense management and support business growth.
“Our focus remains on building products that create value for organisations of every size while delivering a seamless experience for their employees,” he stated.
Bolt Business has continued to experience an increasing demand from businesses seeking smarter, more efficient ways to manage employee transportation and business travel.
It serves organisations across a broad range of industries, including financial services, technology, healthcare, professional services, manufacturing, logistics, media, real estate and fast-growing consumer businesses.
The growth reflects a broader shift in how Nigerian businesses approach corporate mobility. Rather than maintaining expensive vehicle fleets or relying on fragmented transport arrangements, more organisations are adopting digital mobility platforms that offer greater transparency, control and operational efficiency.
“Businesses today are looking beyond transportation; they’re looking for smarter ways to optimise operations and manage costs.
“We’ve seen organisations across different sectors embrace Bolt Business because it gives them a simple, reliable and transparent way to manage employee travel, whether it’s daily commutes, client meetings or business trips.
“This growth demonstrates that corporate mobility is becoming an increasingly important part of business efficiency in Nigeria,” Mr Iroko stated.
Unlike traditional fleet management, Bolt Business enables companies to centralise transportation through a single platform, providing features such as centralised billing, trip reporting, spending controls and real-time visibility into employee travel. These capabilities help businesses improve oversight while reducing the administrative burden associated with corporate transportation.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
To boost economic activities in Lagos Island and support residents, the chief executive of the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority, Mr Bashir Are, sponsored the training of eight persons at the LagRide Drivers Academy through the LagRide Partner Programme.
Mr Are funded both the academy training and the vehicle costs, removing the two barriers that most frequently prevent qualified drivers from entering formal, structured employment in the mobility sector.
The beneficiaries were handed over keys to their vehicles at a ceremony in Lagos on Tuesday, July 21, 2026.
They now operate a LagRide vehicle under the platform’s Drive To Own programme, which allows a Captain to earn daily income while working towards full ownership of the vehicle at the end of the agreed payment term.
“The initial capital required to be onboarded was never going to come from these young men, so we provided that intervention financially so that they can have good employment.
“Lagos is a megacity. My agency runs the largest gaming and fintech conference on the continent every year, and when those delegates arrive, we do not want them driven around in poor vehicles. This is also employment for our own people, and we have a great deal of unemployment and underemployment in this country.
“These Captains are from Lagos Island Local Government, and they can now take care of their own families. Let me be clear about one thing. This is not a project. It is a programme, and it continues,” Mr Are stated.
Also speaking, the chairman of LagRide, Ms Diana Chen, said, “Today is just a new beginning, and more and more people will come. More local governments will join us, and one day we want to bring the Governor here so that this programme runs across the state.
“LagRide is a platform where a person comes to take a job and ends up owning the vehicle. It is also a platform that any government, or any organisation with a social development or CSR mandate, can use to empower the people they want to support. The people get their own asset at the end of it.”
On her part, the lawmaker representing Lagos Island Constituency I in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mrs Omolara Oyekan-Olumegbon, said, “Everyone keeps saying there are not enough jobs for our youths. This is our own way of ensuring that they are empowered.
“When you give a person money, it is money, and it finishes. This is the difference between giving a man a fish and teaching him how to fish. You are giving these young men something they can use to take care of themselves, their families and their homes.
“We must thank the chief executive of the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority for doing this, and I must also thank Chief Diana Chen. Lagos Island is a commercial hub, and we intend to keep the flag flying. This is the beginning, and we will be coming back to ask for more.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A bill aimed at prohibiting hawking, trading or preaching inside commercial vehicles in Nigeria has been passed by the Senate.
The bill known as the Federal Road Safety Corps (Amendment) Bill, 2026, imposes fines between N50,000 and N100,000 for violations if assented to by the President.
The piece of legislation was passed by the red chamber of the National Assembly on Thursday and should later be transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
Members of the upper chamber of the parliament explained that the law was amended to discourage distractions in commercial vehicles and improve the safety of commuters.
In addition, motorists who fail to cooperate with officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) during roadside breath tests conducted on reasonable suspicion are liable to fines or imprisonment or both.
Lawmakers noted that this was to improve compliance with road safety regulations and reduce road crashes, as fines for driving under the influence of alcohol or intoxicating drugs were raised to N100,000 from N5,000, with the risk of spending two years behind bars.
It was also proposed that disobedience to traffic lights, road signs, pavement markings and other traffic control devices will now attract N100,000, while the fine for speed limit violations is now N100,000, with reckless driving now a fine of N100,000 or two years’ imprisonment.
