Uber, the technology company that connects riders and drivers has added Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city to its booming network in Africa, a year after it launched its Ghana operations.
The Kumasi service was officially launched on Thursday morning.
Uber has proved popular across the world’s cities for its provision of affordable, safe and reliable transport. Through an easy-to-use platform – a smart phone app – it connects drivers with riders in real time, at the touch of a button.
The service which is now common around the world was first introduced in San Francisco in the USA, in 2010 to help improve security of commuters.
Currently, 600 cities with one million drivers are benefiting from the service which helps to grow local entrepreneurs.
The fares are calculated per kilometer and are fixed and cannot be bargained but it guarantees the safety and comfort of passengers.
Drivers earn 75 per cent of the charge on each trip whilst UBER takes 25 per cent.
At a media briefing in Kumasi, the General Manager for South Sahara Africa, Alon Lits explained how the application works and said commuters can actually see the movement of the car on their phones till they get to their location.
Mr Lits said the system was to ensure increase in sales of drivers some of whom drive their cars empty while looking for passengers.
