Nigerian bike hailing platform, Gokada, has announced the launch of a new corporate office in the industrial hub of Ilupeju in Lagos. The launch of the new office comes just after the company clocked two years in operation.
https://twitter.com/chinyereuzuh1/status/1101103252140113920
Nigerian motorcycle taxi app Gokada to open driver training school https://t.co/jb6hIDzMXE pic.twitter.com/v1RyE4vnxQ
— StartUp West Africa (@StartUpWAfrica) March 1, 2019
But it’s not just the launch of the corporate office that made the company excited. The startup also announced a new training school for its bike riders. The Gokada Riders Training School is projected to train around 500 riders within a short period of time.
The Gokada Training School is an interesting project, especially when you consider the challenges of motorcycling in Nigeria.
Okada riders are quite ubiquitous on Nigerian roads. Particularly in Lagos and other big cities, Okadas serve as the best alternative to escape the traffic challenges.They get passengers to their destinations quickly and at a more or less reasonable amount.
However, in their quest to make trips as quickly as possible, Okada riders have a huge tendency to forgo good practices and just take any means necessary on the road.
They violate traffic laws and dangerously follow the opposite side of the road (one-way) when there’s traffic. Some even move so rough that passengers end up worrying more for their lives than getting to their destinations on time.
When a woman stands up for her self she stands up for all women! This month we’ll be celebrating women who are breaking the norm and giving other women a voice to Do More without letting their gender restrict them #womanwithnolimits #Gokadaforher #Gokadaforherchallenge pic.twitter.com/Jbfy5Cr8oZ
— Gokada – Delivering all 7 days (@GokadaNG) March 4, 2019
Some riders have also been known to make trouble with passengers by increasing the price of a trip only after getting to the destination.
These are some of the issues Gokada is expected to put into consideration while operating their driving school.
Gokada now completes 5,000 rides daily in Lagos, says CEO | GTV https://t.co/Cb9nSnDDuy
— Ylagos (@ylagos_) March 3, 2019
Although Gokada operates its own bikes, it also allows freelance riders use the platform to score fares. So far Gokada has secured around 1000 bikes and completes 5000 trips per day, according to Disrupt Africa.
The new training school will help to ensure its riders get all the right etiquette needed to swerve and operate efficiently in Nigeria. The training school will commence operations in April 2019.
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