Global technology platform Glovo has launched a new road safety feature on its riders’ app in a bid to improve road safety standards across Uganda.
The feature launched at Fairway Hotel in Kampala combines technology-driven monitoring with structured safety education, equipping riders with tools to enhance their safety while on the road.
According to officials, riders can voluntarily opt into the feature, which provides real-time feedback on their riding behaviour, allowing them to make informed decisions and adopt safer practices.
Speaking during the launch, Brendon Njoroge, the Head of Operations for Glovo Uganda said the app gives scores to riders based on their riding habits.
“This encourages riders to adopt better riding habits so that we can prevent accidents,” Njoroge said.
“Road safety is extremely important to these riders because they use the roads literally every second. We are delivering thousands of orders every minute, and they are heavy road users. So they are predisposed to many of the issues that happen on the roads. This is part of our commitment to empower riders, give them the information they need, upskill them, and make sure they use the roads safely.”
According to Njoroge, the feature will ensure riders improve on their behaviours on the road but also the company uses it to see how to help riders.
“We use the insights we get to know who to target and how to support them. Riders who consistently score low will receive tailored training to help them understand why they are scoring low and how they can improve their riding habits. We support them through training, upskilling, and sometimes incentives. We can reward riders for improving their scores and so on,” he said.
The Manager in charge of Traffic Management and Control at the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), Eng. Joel Wasswa welcomed the feature that he said is timely.
“It is very timely and very good for us, especially in terms of capturing real-time data on how people move and identifying areas where people are most prone to accidents, especially motorcycle riders,” Eng. Wasswa said.
“The feature helps Glovo to capture real-time accidents happening, and that can also help with emergency response. From the side of KCCA, this information can help us determine how we can intervene to ensure people are safe and what infrastructure needs to be put in place in accident hotspots and high-risk areas.”
He said due to data captured by the feature, KCCA can work on improvements in terms of additional signage, making certain roads one-way, or even restricting some movements for particular categories of vehicles.
During the same function, Glovo Uganda riders were trained on road safety by KCCA officials.
Speaking to the riders, Jemima Nalumansi, the Bloomberg Road Safety Project Coordinator at KCCA said motorcycles account for over 50% of the road accident fatalities in Kampala and over 60% of the serious accidents in the same area.
She said this gloomy picture ought to change.
“The most common dangerous behaviour by motorcycle riders include riding on sidewalks endangering pedestrians, careless overtaking especially on the left side, riding in the opposite direction of traffic flow, running red lights, speeding and distraction especially from phones,” Nalumansi said.
She urged the riders to avoid these behaviours.”