Drivers on Fares

THE between five and 10 per cent reduction in fuel prices will not significantly affect commercial transport fares.
Daily Graphic surveys at some lorry stations in the metropolis show that while generally most trotro fares have been maintained after the reduced fuel prices took effect, some drivers have increased their fares by about 5Gp.
The fare from Mallam to Kasoa before the announced decreases was 70 Gp and is now 75Gp, while that from Mallam to Accra, which was formerly 40Gp is now 45Gp.
Other trotro drivers are running on transit basis. That is, they pick up people at a point and take them half the distance, insist on all passengers getting down and then reload the vehicles again for the other half of the journey.
Passengers, most often struggling to make it to and from work, are thereby forced to pay sometimes double of what they would spend for the journey.
Some taxi drivers said they charged between GH¢3 and GH¢10 for short distance, depending on how heavy traffic was.
Some executive members of the Ghana Road Transport Co-ordinating Council (GRTCC), the umbrella body of all commercial vehicles in the country, said the decreases in fuel prices were negligible and did not significantly change fares of their members.
The practice in the reduction of fuel prices has included consultation between the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and transport owners and drivers’ unions.
Such consultations take place within an 11-member committee made up of two representatives of the National NPA, three representatives of the Ministry of Transport and six representatives of the GTRCC.
The 11-member committee, however, met after the announcement of the price reduction and reached the decision that the price reduction was negligible, while bank interest on loans used to purchase vehicles, station tolls, spare parts for cars and servicing prices were all increasing.
Mr Mathew Hayford, the Chairman of the GRTCC, said drivers were currently barely able to break even with prevailing increases in spare parts, thus the decreases in fuel prices would rather benefit private vehicle owners and corporate organisations and not Ghanaians who used commercial vehicles.
Random interviews conducted at the Mallam-Kaneshie and Agbogbloshie lorry stations showed drivers were not enthused about the reduction in fuel prices, saying that, to them, it was insignificant.
Mr Gideon Akakpo, a driver, said the high oil prices globally was negatively impacting on Ghana, thus the reductions by the government could affect the nation’s economy.
Another driver, Mr John Ayitey, said traffic congestion in the metropolis was very bad and consumed all the fuel he purchased.
Due to that, he could not reduce transport fares, as what he gained in buying fuel at a lesser price was further used in buying more.