It's 'illicit, unacceptable' to hike fares by 40% – Alliance of Drivers

A group calling itself Alliance of Drivers Ghana has said it is “illicit and unacceptable” for some group of drivers to decide themselves when to increase fares while the government and other regulatory bodies have not done so.

This comes on the back of a statement from the Concerned Drivers Union and True Drivers Union – to roll out a 40 per cent increase in transport fares by Monday, 10 May 2021.

The PRO of Concerned Drivers Union, Mr David Agboado, justified the increment in an interview with Valentina Ofori-Afriyie on Class91.3FM’s mid-day news ‘12Live’ on Tuesday, 4 May 2021, saying from January this year, a gallon of petrol sold at GHS19.45 but has risen to GHS27.58.

Also, he said the price of lubricants has risen by 25 per cent.

Additionally, Mr Agboada noted that some charges of the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has gone up by 15 per cent while charges at the port, are up by 40 per cent.

Cumulatively, Mr Agboada said the cost of running a transportation business is more than 70 per cent but because they are considerate about the plight of Ghanaians, they will increase fares by 40 per cent.

But the Alliance of Drivers Ghana, in a counter-statement, noted that petrol is selling for as low as 4.950 pesewas at Blanco Oil and 4.850 pesewas at some fuel stations across the country.

“It is visible that while the government is bent on fixing the economy, we should know as citizens that we can only achieve this by also fixing ourselves and not try to take advantage to dupe the ordinary Ghanaian all in the name of making people believe some illusionary hardship,” the statement stated.

The Alliance noted that any driver or group of drivers that increase fares without adhering to the directives from the government or the appropriate regulatory bodies must be reported and dealt with.

This group of drivers urged Ghanaians to treat the supposed 40% increase in transportation fares with the utmost contempt it deserves.

This dovetails into calls by the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC) who have asked their members not to increase transportation fares until further notice despite the recent hike in the prices of fuel.

In a joint statement, the two unions said negotiations have already begun to determine an “appropriate fare adjustment acceptable to all transport operators and the public.”

“We, therefore, entreat all transport operators and the general public to continue to apply the existing fares and disregard any purported announcement of an increase in fares until a new fare is announced.”

Meanwhile, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) reduced the GHp17 per litre increase in fuel margins to GHp9 pesewas per litre on Tuesday, 4 May 2021.

The margin reduction takes effect from Wednesday, 5 May 2021.