Coronavirus: We can’t reduce number of passengers in trotro – GPRTU

The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) says it cannot reduce the number of passengers on commercial buses in the wake of the outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus (COVID -19) in Ghana.

A section of the public has appealed to government to take drastic measures at ensuring the reduction in the number of passengers carried by commercial buses across the country in a bid to prevent the spread of the disease.

The call comes after health experts urged all to keep a distance of at least two meters from a person with fever, cough, sneezing, and difficulty breathing.

Many believe that due to how close passengers sit next to each other in public transport there’s the need for the number of passengers to be reduced to ensure the deadly disease is not easily transmitted from one passenger to another.

But speaking to Kwaku Owusu Adjei on Anopa Kasapa on Kasapa 102.5FM, the National Chairman of the GPRTU, Kwame Kumah stated that reducing the number of passengers is impossible.

“We can’t reduce the number of passengers on commercial vehicles simply because of the outbreak of coronavirus. The loading system in our commercial vehicle is a different thing altogether. If a passenger goes to a station and boards a 40 passenger vehicle and says he wants only 5 people on board because he fears he’ll contract coronavirus if the bus is full and he can afford to pay for the empty 35 seats then that’s fine. The driver will set off. If passengers insist they want few people in a 40 passenger vehicle, then the driver will have no option than to share the cost of the remaining seats for them to pay. We are doing business, we just can’t run at a loss.”