State investment in intra-city commuter services would not be a bad idea at all.
Although previous investments in that direction collapsed as did national shipping and air lines, the underlying causative factor for the end of these ventures are not far-fetched: mismanagement.
In the Gold Coast years and until the early post-independence period, the Omnibus Transport Service in Accra and the Railway Company were both performing very well and even posting profits.
Things started falling apart and profits shrinking until losses overwhelmed the gains as we advanced in self-government.
Buses which belonged to the Omnibus Transport Service were sold to a private person who operated them for a long time under the brand, King OF Kings, until he too bowed out of the business.
Today, we have neither a national airline nor a shipping line both of which have gone down under having been saturated by mismanagement until they could no longer do so.
When the issue of floating a state intra-city commuter system comes up, skeptics would certainly question the viability of such ventures, their stance defined by their experience of the past.
Since the factors accounting for the non-performance of such ventures are not beyond the experts in such matters, going to the drawing board to brood over appropriate templates is highly recommended.
The nostalgia triggered by thoughts about days when numbered buses plied the various routes in the city of Accra and their timings stands tall in the minds of many of our senior citizens. These can be restored with proper planning and commitment on the part of persons to be saddled with the assignment.
A reliable and profit-making intra-city transport system coupled with an efficient railway shuttle between Tema and Accra not forgetting Nsawam and the nation’s capital should be our dream.
The strike by commercial drivers operating under the wings of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU)Â Â last Monday made the case for such alternative even more pressing.
The Ministry of Transport should think about this proposal and possibly understudy countries where state intra-city transport system works efficiently.
Much as we stand by private enterprise and therefore support government’s incessant provision of conducive atmosphere for it to flourish, the truncating of essential services such as commuter service should not be countenanced. The provision of an alternative system by the state as being proposed is worth considering. Indeed, the current non-effective Bus Rapid System otherwise called Aayalolo should be incorporated into this system.
The quantum of inconveniences, the loss in man-hours as a result of the strike last Monday are enormous and runs in millions of cedis we dare point out.
It is in our general interest that the state considers a return to the old order of intra-city commuter system when state commuter buses plied the major routes in Accra.
Apart from the provision of convenience to city dwellers, such a state intra-city commuter system would provide employment to various categories of citizens.