By GNA Team
Accra, Sept. 16, GNA – The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Progressive Transport Owners’ Association (PROTOA) have denied announcing a unilateral increase in commercial transport fares amid reports of some drivers charging higher fares, particularly during peak hours.
Mr Samuel Amoah, Deputy Public Relations Officer of the GPRTU, said the union had received complaints about some drivers charging fares that had not been approved.
He attributed the issue partly to “floating drivers” who operated outside recognised transport unions.
“Currently, there has not been any fare increment from our side, officially,” he said.
Mr Amoah, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday, said the GPRTU had a formal process for adjusting fares, involving consultations with the Ministry of Transport and other stakeholders before new fares could take effect.
The union, he said, had proposed a 30 per cent adjustment in fares, but a committee, comprising representatives of the GPRTU, Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC), and the Ministry of Transport had been formed to assess increases in operational costs.
The committee would examine the prices of inputs, including spare parts, and submit its findings before stakeholders took a final decision on the proposed adjustment, Mr Amoah said.
“If the report proves that yes, things have gone high, as we are seeing, then it means that there is a possibility for us to increase fares,” he said.
Mr Amoah said the GPRTU had internal sanctions, including fines and suspension, for members who charged fares that had not been approved by the union.
He also attributed the shortage of commercial vehicles during peak hours to the high cost of spare parts, which had resulted in several vehicles being unable to operate.
He said the union had requested government’s support with additional buses to ease pressure on public transport services.
Meanwhile, a leading member of PROTOA, who pleaded anonymity, also maintained that the Association’s drivers did not independently determine transport fares.
He said fare adjustments were determined by the association’s executives in consultation with the relevant stakeholders.
“Drivers do not fix fares. It is the executives of PROTOA, in conjunction with other stakeholders, that fix fares,” he said.
PROTOA, he noted, was guided by rules and regulations governing the transport sector and did not allow individual drivers to arbitrarily determine fares.
The association also consulted other transport stakeholders, including the State Transport Company (STC), when dealing with fares, he said, explaining that at the association’s loading point at Kimbu, fares were based on those agreed upon by the various stakeholders rather than being independently determined by drivers.
“Any adjustment will have to follow the appropriate consultation process,” he added.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe