This archive report was first published on 20 November 2019.
According to the World Health Organisation's Global Status Report on Road Safety, a significant number of deaths occur in developing countries. In Kenya, the situation is dire, with between 3000 and 13,000 people losing their lives in road traffic crashes every year, mostly between the ages of 15 and 45.
On World Day of Remembrance for road traffic victims, themed 'Life is not a car part', stakeholders and corporate bodies, including ride-hailing firms like Bolt, came together to enhance awareness on industry affairs and foster collaboration for the greater good of the industry.
The event highlighted the need for a holistic approach to mitigate road accidents, focusing not only on combating road carnages but also ensuring the safety of passengers on board. This approach will make the initiative more effective in curbing road traffic accidents in the public transport sector.
The introduction of ride-hailing services has increased convenience for people seeking transportation and enhanced better compliance with regulations, thereby enhancing safety nets. Ride-hailing firms have measures to ensure necessary oversight to protect ride-hailing passengers from unscrupulous operators, which is key in boosting public transport safety and security.
For instance, the ride-hailing economy has put forward comprehensive programs based on a combination of well-trained personnel and organizationally integrated industry where vetting of vehicles to ascertain their road worthiness is taken seriously before signing them into the platform as a step to ensure passengers' safety.
Measures such as infrastructural design, vehicle characteristics, and driving behavior have formed part of the weekly communications shared with driver-partners to ensure road safety and passenger security are achieved in equal measure. Moreover, most of the ride-hailing apps have strengthened their respective driver screening processes and introduced emergency assistance apps for their customers to further strengthen ride safety of their customers on the platform.
Under these views, there is an increase in driver's performance quality and consequently, a boost in public transport safety. The on-demand transportation services have experienced significant growth since their introduction, expanding peoples' mobility options and passenger safety, contributing immensely to the general public transportation safety and security.
