inDrive, stakeholders seek stronger collaboration on road safety

Ride-hailing platform inDrive and other stakeholders in Nigeria’s transportation sector have called for stronger collaboration to improve road safety and protect drivers and passengers.

The call was made at the third edition of the inDrive Safety Summit, themed ‘Transparency,’ held in Abuja.

In his welcome remarks, the Country Manager of inDrive Nigeria, Timothy Oladimeji, said the platform was established to provide affordable and safe transportation services to riders.

Oladimeji explained that the summit was organised to educate and engage key stakeholders on safety and mobility, with a view to developing practical solutions and achieving measurable results.

He noted that safe mobility required the active participation of drivers, passengers, government agencies and other stakeholders across the transportation ecosystem, adding that drivers had a critical role in ensuring trips were conducted responsibly and safely.

According to him, inDrive had established collaborations with government agencies to improve driver verification processes, strengthen response times with the Nigeria Police Force and enhance driver onboarding in partnership with the Federal Road Safety Corps.

In his presentation, the Driver Marketing Lead for Africa, the Middle East and Europe, Adimaldo Silva, said the platform had introduced several safety features to protect both riders and drivers.

According to Silva, the features include liveness checks, order-feed moderation, dangerous-area alerts and in-app chat moderation, among others.

He explained that the dangerous-area alerts identify locations with higher safety risks, enabling drivers to remain more vigilant while operating in such areas.

Also speaking, the Director of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Jane Ojinta, who represented the Permanent Secretary, said road connectivity and safety remained a shared responsibility requiring the active participation of government, private-sector operators, drivers, passengers and other stakeholders.

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Ojinta urged inDrive and other mobility operators to sustain investments in driver verification, vehicle safety, passenger protection, emergency response systems and public awareness.

She reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for innovation and investment in the transportation sector while supporting initiatives aimed at promoting safer, more efficient, accessible and sustainable mobility solutions for Nigerians.

“I urge all stakeholders to strengthen collaboration, embrace appropriate technology, and uphold the highest standards of safety and service delivery.

“Together, we can build a transportation system that inspires public confidence, supports economic growth, and safeguards the well-being of all road users,” he said.

The Assistant Corps Commander and Unit Commander of the FRSC Life Camp, Laraba Shanwa, said the agency placed significant emphasis on collaboration, particularly in road safety management.

Shanwa urged mobility service operators to collaborate with relevant stakeholders on drivers’ training and retraining, organised public awareness campaigns to address identified areas of concern, data-informed interventions to reduce road traffic crashes, and improved safety standards for fleet operations.

Delivering the goodwill message on behalf of the Director, Federal Capital Territory, Directorate of Road Traffic Services, Festus Achu commended inDrive for organising the summit to promote safety, security and accountability in the e-hailing industry.

Achu stressed the need for stronger collaboration among government agencies, technology platforms, drivers, security agencies and the public to improve road safety and security.

He added that the DRTS was open to working with inDrive to ensure its drivers complied with applicable regulatory requirements, including driver training, profiling, vehicle certification and the maintenance of valid vehicle documents.