GPRTU entreats Government to intervene

Accra, Aug.4, GNA - The Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the Ghana Private Road and Transport Union (GPTRU), Mr Alhaji Eesa Tetteh has appealed to the Government to stop the implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) programme because it was neither in the interest of commuters nor the Union.

He said information reaching the Union indicated that under the programme only registered vehicles would be allowed to ply certain selected roads, and that this had the tendency to make owners of unregistered vehicles to bribe their way in.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra on Monday, Alhaji Tetteh said the system would impoverish transport owners because they would be forced to ply on routes without passengers, and also put stress on commuters.

He said even under the current system vehicle owners were not breaking even, and that it was obvious that the new system would render many of them bankrupt.

He further appealed to the Government to guarantee bank loans for drivers to acquire their own vehicles, which would reduce the level of unemployment in the country, adding that the purchase of such vehicles should be channelled through the GPRTU to ensure prompt loan repayment. Alhaji Tetteh said the banks should demand payment whether one's vehicle was at a workshop or not.