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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | SafeBoda is seeking to increase the number of riders under its brand this year. Thompson Ricky Rapa, a founder of SafeBoda disclosed this during their community event at Lugogo Cricket Oval in Kampala Sunday.
The SafeBoda Community was celebrating its growth to more than 8,000 riders in Kampala. Rapa said they intend to enroll more riders and asked government to designate parking space for them on traffic lights and reduce on permit fees among other things.
Rapa said they have rolled out to Nairobi and plan to go to Dares Salaam and Lagos in Nigeria.
Beti Olive Namisango Kamya, the Kampala Minister called upon various Boda Boda groups to emulate SafeBoda in improving the image of the transport industry.
The Minister said she was particularly impressed by the portrayal of Boda Boda riders as family people and commended their adherence to the traffic regulations.
SafeBoda is a fast growing community of riders using mobile phone technology to bring services to the people. It was founded in Kyebando, a Kampala city suburb in 2015.
Damalie Wasukila, one of the company officials says Safeboda has enabled riders to increase their earnings, gain access to financial services and improved the livelihoods of their families while making it possible for millions of passengers to travel in Kampala.
“Our vision is to facilitate safe, convenient, urban transportation amongst Africa’s booming young population and ultimately improve livelihoods for Kampalans.
Twice every year, we hold a gathering of our SafeBoda community where we continuously educate on road safety and guidelines, celebrate individuals who have excelled and continue to build a strong community of riders,” Wasukira says.
For the New Year, SafeBoda has increased customer prices from 5:00pm to 9:00am every day in a campaign dubbed “Saawa ya Nyongeza” or bonus time. This means a customers will pay higher and the office tops up to 20% of the total fare.
This means customers who have been paying Shillings 3500 for a trip will not pay Shillings 5000. The office will give the ride a top up of Shillings 1000 to make it Shillings 6000. Some of the riders expressed mixed feelings about the new rates in an interview with URN.
