Odumase, Kpong drivers yet to comply with 10% reduction in transport fares

Correspondence from Eastern Region

Transport operators at Kpong and Odumase Krobo in the Eastern Region are yet to comply with the 10 percent reduction in transport fares more than 24 hours after an announced reduction directed to take effect from Wednesday, 17th May 2023.

A visit by GhanaWeb to the Kpong Cooperative Drivers’ Union Limited and the Odumase transport terminal revealed that fares have not been reduced by the agreed margin in the aforementioned areas after Road Transport Operators announced a cutback in the prices of petroleum products.

The passengers are therefore yet to enjoy the expected decrease which is commensurate with prevailing fuel prices on the market following engagements between transport operators and the Ministry of Transport.

Also, checks conducted by GhanaWeb on taxis and other commercial vehicle drivers, who shuttle within the communities revealed that they were yet to implement the new fares.

The drivers claimed that they had not received the new pricing list from their leadership as of Thursday, hence their inability to implement the new fares.

They were nevertheless hopeful that the GPRTU would offer them the new price list to guide the implementation of the new fares.

Some passengers who spoke to this portal in an interview decried the failure of drivers to comply with the latest directive from their superiors.

Only a few months back, passengers paid GH₵36 from Kpong to Kumasi. Recent hikes shot the fare to GH₵96 before the last reduction few months ago saw a GH₵10 reduction to GH₵86. However, drivers are yet to comply with the latest reduction.

A Kumasi-bound passenger, Mrs. Theresa Matey speaking at Kpong said she still paid the old fare of GH₵86. “The fare was GH₵86, I came today and it’s still GH₵86…the high fares are preventing people from travelling so we’re pleading with them to reduce it for us.”

Another who also gave his name as Odonkor travelling to Koforidua though still paid the old fare of GH₵31 was however sympathetic towards the plight of the drivers.

He argued: “The unions are also suffering in terms of bad roads so always they’re going and coming, before the next day, they have to buy spare parts.”

He urged all stakeholders to sit and come to a resolution on the matter.

A driver, Padi Ebenezer argued that the high cost of spare parts and prices of goods and services were preventing drivers from reducing their fares.

President of the Kpong Cooperative Transport Society, Mr. Paul Kanatey responding to the concerns of the passengers aside from accusing their superiors of failing to directly engage transport operators on the ground also bemoaned the hikes in prices of the other transport products which he said transport operators were forced to bear.

“What I’ve realized is that most at times, people who are not directly informed in the issues that we’re doing, they sit down and dictate to us and it is worrying…the question is has all other things that have gone up in prices come down? We’re not only using fuel, engine oil is there, tyres are there, our insurance has gone up.”

“Those of us who are really involved directly on the grassroots, they should’ve consulted us and taken our views but the leaders up there, they sit with the government and then they take the decisions, it’s like they’re imposing it on us…go to Abossey Okai right now, the spare parts, they’ve all gone up, they’ve escalated,” argued the Cooperative president.

He wondered why drivers were always forced to reduce fares while prices of goods and services either remained same or continued to rise.

Asked if they’d eventually comply with the directive to reduce prices in spite of the announced reductions and act accordingly, he said, “We’re consulting our various groups and we have to make our suggestions to be felt up there.”

Chairman of the Odumase branch of the Ghana Private Roads Transport Union (GPRTU), Mr. John Boadua Kwao explained that though the reductions were yet to be effected, consultations were still ongoing to implement them.