Shortage of LPG takes taxis off the road in Ho

Ho, Sept. 9, GNA - About 30 per cent of taxis in Ho are off the road in view of the shortage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for the past few weeks, Mr Wisdom Adraku, Chairman of Ho Taxi Drivers Union, told the GNA in Ho on Thursday.

He said the situation was of a great concern to the Union especially on market days and expressed the hope that the challenge would be resolved soon.

Mr Adzraku appealed to the few taxi drivers against taking undue advantage of the situation to charge exorbitant fares and urged passengers to report such taxi drivers to the Union for redress.

Some passengers who spoke to the GNA described the situation as worrying.

Mr Kofi Kade, a designer, said he had to pay five Ghana cedis daily for "dropping" from Mawuli Estate to Ho Dome where he has his business instead of 40 Ghana pesewas.

He suggested to the government to make taxi drivers pay commercial rates for the LPG, increase the supply of the commodity and specific gas stations should be designated for taxis.

Mr Eric Wodunude, a taxi driver, said gas was more economical than petrol thus the resolve of many taxi drivers to use gas.

Fights and quarrels between domestic users of LPG and taxis are daily occurrences at the filling stations anytime the commodity is in town.

Comments picked from some taxi drivers indicated that they were able to get prior information long before the LPG arrived in town.

This enabled them to form long queues pending the arrival of the commodity thus denying domestic users access to the commodity.

It is a daily sight to see domestic users of the commodity moving from one filling station to another sometimes with their cylinders on their heads.

Some domestic users of the commodity and some taxi drivers often travelled from Ho to Aflao in search of the LPG.