A transport terminal
The leadership of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) has begun processes to engage the Minister of Transportation over the upward adjustment of public transport fares.
According to the GPRTU it is prudent for stakeholders to engage with the government as well as assess other factors before such a decision is taken.
It therefore noted that although it agrees with an upward adjustment in transport fares it has not come to an agreement on the percentage increase.
General Secretary of GPRTU, Godfred Abulbire, thus called on the public to disregard a supposed increment in transport by 30%.fares from Wednesday, September 21, 2022.
“Our position is that, fuel prices have gone up, which must be equated to fare increment. But that is not the only component we consider when adjusting prices,” he told the media.
“A committee has been set up to do the fact-finding for the report to be submitted to the Minister so we agree. But settling on a particular margin and timeline now will be creating fear and panic”, he explained.
He further decried a drastic reduction in the patronage of commercial road transport due to the increase in transport fares.
Transport fares went up by 20 per cent in May.
As of May 9, 2022, when the new fares took effect, petrol and diesel were selling at a national average of GH¢9.41 and GH¢11.12, respectively.
At the moment, the price of petrol per litre has crossed GH¢11 and diesel sells for over GH¢14 per litre at most pumps.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri