A taskforce has been set up by the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) of TUC and the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC) to monitor compliance of the recently approved transport fares for commercial transport operators.
The move by the two bodies follows the arbitrarily increase in transport fares by some commercial vehicle drivers against the approved transport fares which effect on Saturday, July 11, 2020.
Government on July 7, 2020, announced a 15% upward adjustment of transport fares, effective Saturday, July 11, 2020.
The announcement was as a result of a petition that was submitted to the Ministry of Transport by the various transport unions, requesting for an upward adjustment of transport fares.
The transport unions had contended that the novel coronavirus was impacting heavily on the activities of their members (commercial drivers) as a result of the reduction in the number of passengers per vehicle to conform to the social distancing protocols.
Explaining the justification for the increment to the press in Parliament, deputy Transport Minister, Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover stated “The transport unions made an application to the Ministry but because of the covid-19, government has asked them not to load full capacity, so because of that they are losing a lot of money [running cost of operations]”.
The transport unions, politicoghana.com understands, appealed to government to either allow them to run full sitting capacity or to increase transport fares.
However, government opted for the latter.
Despite the 15% upward adjustment of transport fares, some commercial drivers are still charging arbitrarily fares.
The taskforce is therefore expected to monitor and bring perpetrators to book.
“Any commercial vehicle driver who flouts this arrangement would be sanctioned. Union Executives, Company Directors, Station Managers and Masters are requested to ensure compliance by drivers to the approved fares”, the statement in part read.
According to the statement, the baseline for the calculation of the 15% increase was that of the first scheduled increase in Road Transport Fares which took effect from September 16, 2019.
The statement however, reminded all commercial drivers, commuters and the general public that the precautionary directives on social distancing in public transport vehicles and terminals and the safety protocols including the wearing of nose mask are still in force.
