.jpg)
Ride-hailing app sessions nearly double across UK cities on Halloween, Bolt data shows
Bolt app sessions across 16 UK cities rose 98% on Halloween night compared with the average Saturday in the previous four weeks, according to data released by the ride-hailing company.
Liverpool recorded the biggest increase in late-night app activity, up 205%. Bristol followed with a 190% rise and Cardiff with 178%. Newcastle and Southampton also more than doubled their activity, increasing by 151% and 135% respectively.
Bolt measured app sessions between 7pm on Saturday 31 October and 3.59am on Sunday 1 November. Its comparison was the average of the four preceding Saturdays in October. The figures cover app sessions, rather than confirmed trips or completed journeys.
Activity peaked nationally at midnight, one hour earlier than Bolt’s reported Halloween peak in 2025. In some cities, activity continued to build later: it peaked at 3am in Liverpool and at 2am in Cardiff, Nottingham and Bristol.
The company linked the figures to the demand for travel home as celebrations continued into the early hours, when public transport options may be more limited. Bolt cited research indicating that more than a quarter of consumers in London regard limited or unreliable public transport as a barrier to staying out after 10pm.
Chris McMillan, Bolt Operations Manager, said: “Halloween is one of the biggest nights of the year for our cities, and we want people to be able to enjoy everything they have to offer knowing there is a reliable way home at the end of it. Our role becomes even more important in the later hours, when traditional public transport can be less accessible. The sharp increase in activity shows just how many people turn to Bolt as they plan their journey home.”
The figures provide a snapshot of activity on one of the UK’s busiest nights out, but do not establish how many journeys were booked or how the demand affected driver supply, fares or waiting times. Bolt’s data covered 16 UK cities where it operates.
