AN online transport service provider, Gokada Riders Ltd., says it has registered no fewer than 1,000 motorcycle riders since its inception in 2017.

Mr Deji Oduntan, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, made this known on Wednesday at the formal launching of the Gokada Application at Yaba, Lagos.

Oduntan said that in a bid to change the face of transportation in Nigeria and subsequently Africa, Gokada was planning to have over 5,000 motorcycles in Lagos within the next few months.

According to him, Gokada is an on-demand motorbike hailing service, aimed at leveraging technology to connect users to the nearest motorbikes within their areas, thereby helping them to beat the traffic.

“Gokada operates within the Yaba Mainland axis and recently started operations within Victoria Island to Lekki axis in Lagos,’’ he said.

Oduntan said that very soon, Gokada would add more destinations, noting that the company was borne out of the need to empower Nigerians through jobs creation.

“We finance the motorcycles and helmets we give to our riders and they pay a certain amount on a daily basis.

“The motorcycle becomes their own after a year,” he said.

Oduntan said that the riders undergo certain training on safety measures before they were registered with the company.

He said the company also ensures that they do comprehensive insurance for their riders in case of accidents.

The chief executive officer said that the company was formally using Gokada Lite App; but due to some challenges, they had to upgrade.

“Although, the Gokada Lite eliminates the use of data, it had the tendencies to cover charge customers.

“So, we decided to create a standard app called ‘Gokada app’, which uses data, but does not cover charge.

“At present, no fewer than 100,000 customers have downloaded the new app,” Oduntan said. (NAN)

– Jan. 30, 2019 @ 17:25 GMT |