Transportation is a serious economic activity in every country. When it suffers, the fallouts can be discerned in various spheres of national life.
In the run-up to the last Yuletide, as it has always been the case, commuters went through harrowing times moving from one part of the national capital to another.
There were fewer vehicles on the normal routes and people wondered why, because as they put it, ‘fuel price has declined.’
The picture has persisted even after the Yuletide, with commuters spending long periods at bus stops waiting for buses to proceed to their desired destinations.
The story has attracted national attention, prompting some to think that the driver unions’ are putting spanners in the works of government.
For those who think government is being sabotaged, they are missing the factors which could be responsible for the anomaly.
Some smart drivers could be responsible somewhat for the troubles of commuters in Accra and by extension Kumasi, the second biggest city in the country in terms of numbers. There are inherent challenges which must be considered if we genuinely seek a way out of the seeming conundrum.
Traffic gridlocks in especially Accra account for the challenges commuters face in their movements.
Drivers avoid routes which have traffic congestions, as a result of which they sometimes keep off the roads just so they do not expend fuel uneconomically.
The Motor Traffic and Transport Department of the Ghana Police Service must devise means of addressing this challenge. It is a hard nut to crack, we agree, considering the nature of some roads in the city. Their sincere involvement can positively impact on the situation.
Inability to take hard decisions account for the congestion, especially as it applies to the Central Business District of Accra.
Successive governments have tried in vain to clear the streets of hawkers. These hawkers aggravate the situation on the roads in this busy portion of the nation’s capital yet they stay put. Drivers stay for long on these roads as they endure the accompanying drawbacks.
Drivers complain about cops deployed to this part of the city concentrating more on lining their pockets than putting in efforts to ensure free-flow of vehicles.
The municipal assemblies must change the fixed route standard for commercial drivers. This way, these buses can change route without being fined by the assemblies which license vehicles for the various routes within their jurisdictions.
We have also observed the rivalry between the plethora of transport unions, each of which exerts its authority against those who do not belong to their folds. Drivers who have to meet the daily financial obligations to vehicle owners suffer in the end. To avoid this, they park their vehicles for some hours, the result being the shortage of these mini-buses on the roads at given times of the day.
The cost of fuel might have fallen, not so spare parts. The fees for related services such as insurance, vehicle registration among others have witnessed sharp increases, realities which impact on the availability of vehicles for commuting.
The Trade Minister engaged with spare parts dealers recently towards ensuring affordability for their products and, therefore, making vehicles available for commuting. While this is a welcome move, sincere efforts should be made to reduce the cost of duty on spare parts among others so more vehicles can be put on our roads.
The state transport sector should be revitalised so broken down vehicles in the fleet of Ayalolo and others can be rehabilitated and put on especially intra-city roads.