Transport operators ignore order to fix emergency doors

The order to transport owners to fix emergency doors in all commercial buses has largely been ignored by those operating in the Ashanti Region.

A visit to the various terminals by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) showed that many of the buses running the different routes do not have emergency exits, almost five months after a Human Rights Court, had directed that they must have them.

Some of the operators claimed to be unaware of the directive, whilst others used the excuse of financial challenges.

The court, presided by Justice Kofi Essel Mensah, had given a March 26, 2015 deadline, after which offending transport owners would be held for contempt and their buses grounded.

This followed an action brought against the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), the Attorney General, National Insurance Commission, Inspector General of Police (IGP) and some transport companies by a Tema-based public servant, Mr. Kwabena Osie.

He had sought an order by the Court, requiring the DVLA to examine all commercial buses and withdraw the license of any found to be operating without emergency doors and the arrest and prosecution of offenders by the police.

At the Asafo Market terminal, Mr. Kwaku Manu, Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) Wassa-Akropong Station Master, pleaded for more time to allow them to raise money to get the doors fitted.

The situation at the O.A Transport Services and the VIP Station was, however, different as most of the buses there had these doors, which are meant to ensure passengers safety in the event of an emergency.

Mr. Kennedy Frimpong, Operations Manager of O.A. Transport Services, told the GNA that almost all their buses have emergency exits.

A Management Member of the VIP, Mr. Rockson Agyei, said more than 90 per cent of their buses have such doors.