GHC120 verification fees: Ride-hailing drivers accuse DVLA of fraud

Uber, Bolt and Yango drivers have described the imposition of 60cedis annual fee as well as being levied 60 cedis for the verification of license as “fraud” being perpetrated by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority with the backing of the Ministry of Transport.

The divers shared their grievances on 3FM Sunrise saying the “high fees” has become disincentive to car owners who are now converting their cars into normal taxi services.

“We have tried to have a negotiation with both DVLA and the Ministry of Transport but they are not ready for any negotiation,” one of the drivers noted, “they should meet and understand us and our situation. They should come out clean and stop pretending. We see it to be fraud.”

The Welfare Representative of Online Drivers Union Ghana, Mr Frederick Gyekete Afari also stated, “We are planning on going for a demonstration if something is not done”.

He asked the government to intervene because “there is no work and we have managed to find ourselves one therefore the government should help and support us in order to reduce the unemployment rate in the country.”

DVLA introduced new guidelines to check the activities of drivers who use ride-hailing platforms. They are required to pay an annual fee of GHc60.00 for vehicle verification and authentication of their vehicles in addition to paying another GHc60.00 for driver verification and authentication.