A Look At The Ride-sharing Industry In Ghana

Ride-sharing or ride-hailing is now one of the most common modes of transport in Ghana. 

People traditionally usually used to do this by hailing a passing taxi on the roadside. 

Ride-sharing companies or ride hailing apps have, however, changed the meaning of ride-hailing altogether. 

The ride-sharing platform has evolved in the country over the years and has become a part of the Ghanaian transport system. 

The use of ride-sharing platforms is more common in the capital city of Accra. 

Since ride-sharing seems to have become a part of Ghanaian life, taking a look at it and how it has shaped it is worth an article. So in today’s article, we will be taking a look at the ride-sharing platforms in Ghana.

Introduction Of Uber In Ghana

Uber made its way into the Ghanaian transport industry in 2016 and has grown steadily over the years.

Uber is now very popular in Ghana, and you can find its services in both Accra and Kumasi. The ride-sharing company was first launched in Nigeria in 2014 before making its way to Ghana.

Uber was able to endear itself to the people of Ghana due to how convenient and easy it made the mode of transport.

The fares that case along with Uber was also deemed cheap, further making people prefer to use their services. Uber had a significant advantage when it first came to Ghana since there was barely any ride-sharing platform.

Uber came with a scheme of fixed prices based on distance, which was one of the game-changing features that got people endeared to it.

Taxi in Ghana no longer had the monopoly of the fares as they used to do before the emergence of Uber.

Drivers could no longer charge more than they had to, primarily like they used to do at night since they now had competition from Uber. 

Bolt Enters Ghana

About a year and a half after Uber was launched in Ghana, it soon realizes that it did not have the Ghanaian transport industry alone as Bolt, which was then known as Bolt, also entered the market in 2017.

Bolt is the biggest rival to Uber at the moment. The arrival of Bolt also came with some new dynamics in the ride-sharing business.

People in Ghana now had different options to choose from when it came to transportation. The factors that brought the actual market activity to play also became evident.

Some of the things that also became vital and aided in drivers choosing which side to work with became evident.

There were now factors like visibility, lifetime value measures, service quality, regulation, competition, and industry to consider before a driver would decide which of the services he was going to work with. 

One of the most significant advantages that Bolt had over Uber was that it had lower prices than Uber when it first launched in Ghana.

We can now see that the main reason Uber became popular in Ghana was the same antic used by its closet rival when it was also first launched since the cost is one of the significant factors in Ghana. 

Challenges Faced

The ride-sharing platforms have not had it all smooth since their emergence in the transport industry.

One of those challenges is dishonest drivers that tried to circumvent the payment structure of the ride-sharing company they were working for. Uber suffered this the most since it was the first company to operate in Ghana.

Such drivers would make the trip offline so that they circumvent the payment meant for Uber. 

Another challenge was that of security. There are situations whereby rides were unsafe for either driver or passengers. Drivers also sometimes complain of robberies from people who had hailed a ride and abduction.

There was also the pricing scheme which some drivers thought was unfair. The majority of drivers were annoyed with the frequent discounts that Uber was offering to passengers.

Conclusion

The ride-sharing industry is rapidly, and we could see a significant change in the whole transport in some few years to come.

I believe that it has aided the country’s development as Ghana follows the development path it travels.

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