Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia on Wednesday launched the much-awaited digital ride-hailing platform, “Go Ride”, for local taxi drivers in Ghana.

The Go Ride app is designed to address the challenges faced by local taxi drivers, particularly those affiliated with the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) to access clients online, similar to the foreign ride-hailing companies like Uber, Bolt and Yango.

The app is a local ride-hailing platform created through a strategic public-private partnership spearheaded by the Government, led by Vice President Bawumia.

Speaking during the launch of the app in Accra, Dr Bawumia said the Go-Ride platform offered a competitive commission rate of 10 per cent for taxi drivers, significantly lower than those charged by foreign ride-hailing companies.

The lower commission will allow the drivers to retain more of the money.

He said there was also a welfare component inherent in the initiative for local taxi drivers, which would provide an insurance and pension scheme for them.

The initiative, he said, would ensure an inclusive and equitable transport system in Ghana, and bridge the gap between the formal and informal sectors of the economy.

“This represents a symbol of empowerment, innovation and local pride. It shows our commitment to harnessing digital technology for inclusive development,” Dr Bawumia emphasised.

The Vice President noted that the initiative would enable the local taxi drivers to have sustainable livelihoods and a dignified future.

The Vice President explained that the digital infrastructure or programmes such as the Ghana Card, QR Code, Digital Address System and Ghana.Gov were the foundation to aid the private sector to thrive and galvanize economic growth.

Dr Bawumia cited ride-hailing companies like Uber with a $163 billion global value and was hopeful that Ghana would be active partakers in the global digital revolution, by harnessing the potential of digitisation for economic growth, job and wealth creation.

The Vice President expressed optimism that the country would soon export the Go-Ride app to other African countries to secure foreign exchange earnings.

Mr Hassan Tampuli, a Deputy Minister of Transport, said the app was a game-changer that would propel economic development and ensure stable financial conditions for taxi drivers in the country.

He said the call by some driver unions for an increase in transport fares was unjustifiable because Ghana had one of the lowest prices of fuel in the Sub-Region and thus, urged stakeholders in the transport sector to support this laudable initiative.