Disregard new fare announcements – Transport Ministry

Deputy Transport Minister, Hassan Tampuli has advised the public to disregard the Concerned Drivers Association’s announcement of a 15% fare rise.

The Association announced that fares would increase beginning November 2, 2024.

However, the Deputy Minister says fee modifications are determined by criteria such as fuel price stability, inflation, and other economic indicators, all of which are now stable.

“We’ve heard some noises coming from the Drivers’ Union about the threat of an increase in lorry fares. I want to say here, unequivocally, that there’s no basis for any such increase in lorry fares between now and the next six months.

"The leadership are here, and they know what we do, the triggers that would arise in increasing the lorry fares. Nothing of that sort has happened.

"And indeed, as of this morning, Ghana is one of nine countries that have prices of petrol below one dollar… the prices that we have in Ghana are some of the lowest anywhere in the world,” he said.

The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) has also asked the public not to pay new fares since they have not been approved.

Abass Imoro, the Industrial Relations Officer for GPRTU, speaking on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, said, “We need to set the records straight. You can register as a transport operator, but that does not grant you the right to make a blanket decision in increasing transport fares. You cannot do that, and the law does not grant any transport operator the right to increase fares arbitrarily.”

"In the past, it was only the GPRTU that dealt with matters relating to transport fares, but in recent times, the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council now represents the other minor transport operators.

"Individual transport operators can't increase fares; if not, we should be paying more for transport than we are paying now. It does not work like that. We will call for calm.

"If there was a need for an increment, the stakeholders would dialogue and agree on the most appropriate percentage. Before increasing transport fares, we factor in many issues, and most importantly, we consider the passengers. We don’t just increase the fares indiscriminately,” he explained.

“The cost of fuel and other items has indeed risen, but have we also exhausted the established processes for announcing new transport fares? No, we have not done that. We ask the association to exercise restraint and allow us to engage with stakeholders and reach an agreement.

"We’ll encourage passengers to pay the current rate. We will go back to the drawing board to agree on any new fares that may be required, and then we will notify the general public.”