NRSA begins commercial road transport e-registration next month to improve safety

The National Road Safety Authority, (NRSA) is start­ing electronic registration next month for commercial road transport operations to improve safety and quality.

By transitioning from manual processes to a technology-driven framework, the electronic registra­tion is set to bring about a para­digm shift in the sector.

This project, called Transport­Ghana, aims to make transport services better and safer by 50 per cent by 2030.

The participants after the programme Photo Victor A. Buxton

This was disclosed yesterday when NRSA met with transport operators to discuss how to reduce road accidents and also learn the process of e-registration.

The project is in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport and key private sector entities like Transport for Ghana Limited, UCL Ghana Limited, Road Safety Management Services Limited, and Nacasky Company Limited.

The Acting Director General of NRSA, Mr David Osafo Adonteng, said the project would use tech­nology to change how transport services are run. It follows the laws and regulations related to road safety and government policies.

“Key features of TransportGha­na would include a tracking system to monitor trips and keep an eye on speeding, driver behavior, acci­dents, and other issues,” he said.

He said the e-registration would enable the NRSA to register and license road transport operators or service providers, and District As­semblies to issue permits and route licences to road transport operators and service providers.

Mr Adonteng said the project sought to elevate public patron­age and acceptance of these vital services, adding that it reduce nationwide accident occurrence rates and afford accurate measure­ment of operator performance and compliance targets.

Mr Adonteng expressed worry about the carnage on the various roads, “few days ago at around Amasaman, seven lives were lost. This is very sad and so we must do our best to end this”.

During a presentation, the Direc­tor of Regulation, Inspection, and Compliance, Mr Kwame Koduah Atuahene, highlighted that Trans­portGhana was backed by the National Road Safety Authority Act of 2019 (Act 993) and Regulations of 2022 (LI 2468).

Furthermore, the initiative aligns with Section 30 of the Local Gov­ernment Act of 2016 (Act 936) and Section 14 of the Local Govern­ment (Departments of District Assemblies) (Commencement) Instrument of 2009 (LI1961), en­suring a cohesive integration with existing legislation.

Of the many features of Trans­portGhana, a standout component is its E-Vehicle Tracking function­ality.

This innovative he said would empowers front desk personnel to monitor trips in real-time, enabling swift responses and interventions in cases of speeding, erratic driver behavior, road accidents, abnormal stoppages, and fault diagnoses.

He was optimistic that Trans­portGhana would help elevate Ghana’s road safety management and contribute to the broader gov­ernment mandate of digitising all sectors of the national economy.

Mr Atuahene said transportGha­na represented a strategic partner­ship aimed at ushering in a new era of digitisation within the transpor­tation landscape of the country.

 BY AGNES OPOKU  SARPONG