Route Registration Exercise period extended indefinitely

Tema, Aug 07, GNA -- The Route Registration Exercise being carried out by the various Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies in the Greater-Accra Region, has been extended indefinitely, to allow more transport unions to register their members.

The Exercise, aimed at establishing a comprehensive database of public transport routes in the participating assemblies, took off on May 26, and was expected to end on July 10.

Mr. Edem Nyadudzi, Head of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA), Urban Passenger Transport Unit, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Friday, said the extension was to give the various transport unions ample time to provide the needed information for documentation.

According to him, it was also to allow the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), the needed space to settle its misgivings about the Exercise.

He said though other transport unions have picked up the free registration forms, most branches of the GPRTU were yet to do so, due to a directive from the union's Regional Office instructing members not to participate in the Exercise.

The Tema Head of the Urban Passenger Transport Unit gave the assurance that the leadership of the Registration Project and the office of the Greater-Accra Regional Minister were doing their best to address the issues raised by the GPRTU on the Exercise.

He added that the extension of the exercise was also to avoid a re-opening, when members of the GPRTU finally agree to participate.

Mr. Nyadudzi acknowledged the importance of GPRTU in the transport sector towards and the project saying, the union conveys almost 90 per cent of passengers daily.

He said the registration exercise in the Tema Metropolis and the Ashaiman Municipality were discouraging, since only 10 of the transport unions operating in Tema and Ashaiman had submitted their completed forms.

He stated that out of the 10 unions, Ashaiman Municipality had 6, with 4 for the Tema Metropolis.

He added that a total of 19 different unions operating in the Tema Metropolis picked up the forms, while 20 in the Ashaiman Municipality also collected theirs.

Mr. Nyadudzi indicated that the unions were expected to provide information on the drivers operating under them, operator details, structure of operations, in addition to information on terminal, route, vehicle, road worthiness of vehicles, and permit issuance, among others.