The Ghana Private Road Transport Union, GPRTU, has indicated it would be rolling out the mandatory vehicle towing system, from October 2022.
Preceding the rollout would be a period of sensitization of stakeholders from August to September 2022.
General Secretary of the GPRTU, Godfred Abulbire, who made this known said the initiative is to ensure the quick removal of faulty vehicles from the roads.
He said the new Towing System is in partnership with the Road Safety Management Service Limited.
He indicated that drivers would have to subscribe to an online application that has been developed to effectively deliver the service.
Mr. Abulbire said the contractual agreement between the GPRTU and the Road Safety Management Service Limited, requires vehicle owners to pay annual subscription fees depending on the type of vehicle.
He said taxis would be required to pay 50 Cedis, trotros 80 Cedis, long buses 300 Cedis, and articulated trucks 500 Cedis.
He added that the Road Safety Company had brought in over 250 towing trucks to guarantee that every District gets at least, one towing center.
He explained that the laid down process that had been developed by the towing company would allow drivers to sign up for the system with their corresponding details.
According to him, a five percent discount will be enjoyed by subscribers who have 10 vehicles or more.
He further added that the system has an effective reporting system that enables drivers, passengers, and passersby to report incidents of faulty vehicles for immediate action.
He stated that the GPRTU constitutes 85 percent of the private transport space and is well equipped to administer this Mandatory Vehicle Towing Service, stressing that the Union would leverage its dominance in the transport industry to ensure the towing levy is effective.
He also noted that when the new towing policy is fully implemented, any driver without the Vehicle Towing Identification Card would be denied the right to load at any of GPRTU’s terminals.
Mr. Abulbire said the National Road Safety Association has issued directives to Transport Terminals and Unions to engage and train drivers as part of measures to control road crashes.