Dress code for taxi drivers starts on Dec 15

Accra, Nov. 19, GNA - The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) on Monday said its mandatory dress code for taxi driver would come into force from December 15, 2007.

This follows the satisfactory accomplishment of taxi security registration exercise, he said.


"Taxi drivers are reminded that there shall be no more shifting of goal post and the MTTU (Motor Transport and Traffic Union of the Police Service) is accordingly being asked to effect arrest without any more excuses," Stanley Nii Adjiri Blankson, Chief Executive Officer of AMA, announced in Accra on Monday.


He was addressing the third trainer's workshop for taxi drivers and cabbie societies in the Greater Accra region, as part of a project launched by Vanguard Assurance Company Limited to promote road safety tourism.


The AMA early this year proposed sea blue shirt and blue-black trousers for all taxi drivers operating in the metropolis. Nii Adjiri-Blankson said as the nation needed to adopt "a new breed of disciplined taxi drivers to provide quality service to mirror a positive image for the country to our foreign guest". He cited last Wednesday's car crash involving President John Agyekum Kufuor's convoy, saying it was as a result of increased indiscipline on the roads.


"What happened last Wednesday in our history should not happen again," he said. He said the human factor contributed 80 percent of accidents in Ghana.

"Indiscipline, ignorance and sheer recklessness can be identified as accounting for the greater proportion of fatal accidents on our roads. Ghana's road accident record is unacceptably high and the country continues to lose precious human resource, some really high profile, through avoidable lorry accidents.


"Our road safety records could be much better if all drivers, both commercial and private, can exercise great discipline and patience when they are behind the steering wheel."


Nii Adjiri-Blankson urged drivers to improve on their profession by ensuring that they park only at approved places, undertake regular maintenance on vehicles, dressing properly and enhancing customer services culture.


He commended Vanguard Assurance Company Limited for instituting awards for best taxi drivers, training for drivers and transport unions as well as supporting drivers to own brand new taxi cabs through leasing arrangements with financial institutions. Nii Adjiri said training was an important requisite for effective behavioural change and urged executives of the various transport unions to ensure that the necessary platform was provided for the trainers to impart their knowledge to their colleagues.