Uber, one of the biggest ride-hailing providers, celebrates six years since it entered the Ghana market.To celebrate this momentous occasion, Uber ran a three-month competition for drivers who use the Uber app in Ghana to find and reward the top six performing drivers. Each driver received a 43-inch Nasco TV, a GHS400 fuel voucher, and Melcom shopping vouchers to the value of GHS1,000.Appiah Samuel Ohemeng, Kemevor Divine, Justice Attigah, Bimpeh Prosper, Edimah Peter, and Tetteh Edmund are some of the drivers that emerged as winners in the competition.'Drivers are at the heart of our operations, and we succeed when they succeed. We are aware that there are several other economic factors, including fuel price increases, which impact the cost of moving people and goods and we take the concerns of drivers seriously and actively engage on issues which impact their business,' Marjorie Saint-Lot, country manager for Uber in Ghana and Ivory Coast said.'In January, we lowered our service fee to 20%, followed by a trip fare increase across Kumasi and Accra to maximise earnings for drivers using the platform. Our commitment to them is to continuously find ways of maximising their earning potential while meeting the needs of riders,' Saint-Lot added.Uber has also launched new product offerings such as Uber Connect, a peer-to-peer delivery option where Uber has witnessed a growing number of small businesses using this option to improve service reliability for their customers.Alexander Nii Bortey, a driver in Ghana, who prior to driving on the Uber app had been out of work for some time, says that Uber came as a flexible opportunity for him to make money and a year later, he is still enjoying it.'Driving on the platform has helped me a lot. I have a family and I need to put food on the table and take care of them. It was very hard to make ends meet before I joined but since I started driving on the Uber app, I have been able to do this consistently, while still making time for my family', said Bortey.Kojo Blaise, who has been driving on the Uber platform says he has gained a lot of exposure and met many different people who he has learned from and they too, have learned from him.'The Uber platform is secure because of safety features such as the Verify Your Ride option which provides an optional extra layer of protection to ensure that the rider is getting into the right vehicle with the right driver,' he said.Safety features on the Uber platformAll Uber products carry the same door-to-door safety features such as a driver in-app emergency button, Injury Protection, 24/7 support, including driver background checks and screenings. Uber also launched Rider Selfies late last year in response to driver feedback on rider verification. This safety feature works by prompting cash riders to share a selfie before requesting their first cash trip.'The country's accelerated infrastructure development and entrepreneurial culture has inspired us to continue to provide people across Ghana with an affordable, easy and flexible choice to move around the city stress-free, Saint-Lot said.We look forward to the exciting prospects presented by the opportunities in the country and we are eager to continue our work with stakeholders and policymakers to ensure that we drive our vision for urban mobility forward,' he said.Edited by Zintle NkohlaFollow Zintle Nkohla on TwitterFollow IT News Africa on Twitter
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