Drivers must comply with fare reduction directive

One of the vexed issues that always arises between commuters and commercial drivers when there is an increase in fuel prices is a rise in transport fares.

Any upward adjustment in fuel prices invariably affects the cost of goods and services.

While drivers and vehicle owners do not hesitate to increase fares whenever fuel prices go up, even when their leadership has not determined any such increases, commuters also slug it out with the drivers and their conductors over such arbitrary increases.

The exchanges in commercial vehicles, otherwise known as ‘trotro’, sadly, sometimes result in fisticuffs and delays for other commuters in the vehicles when the driver is forced to stop because of heated arguments, thus evoking the loss of man-hours.

Previously, the government, in consultation with the leadership of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and other transport associations and unions, always met to agree on changes in fares even before any fuel price changes were announced.

However, since the country opted for the Automatic Fuel Pricing Formula (A-FPP), through the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), to adjust fuel prices based on various factors, including international crude oil prices, the Ghana Cedi-US dollar exchange rate, and taxes and levies to ensure that fuel prices reflect the real cost of production and distribution, the old system of fuel price and transport cost determination has ceased.

Following the decision to use the A-FPP to determine fuel prices, motorists have had to endure several price hikes with a consistency that has both baffled and demotivated many a driver, with many deciding to park their cars and use public transport to work and any other engagement despite the inconveniences.

Indeed, in November 2022, fuel prices rose,  with petrol selling at GH¢16.82 per litre and diesel at GH¢20.50 per litre, with the explanation that the prices were induced by factors, including the depreciation of the cedi and rising global oil prices.

It is no wonder, therefore, that now that the same A-FPP has resulted in prices at the pump reducing to GH¢13.27 for petrol and GH¢13.87 for diesel averagely, as of May 19, 2025, according to the Ghana Oil Company (GOIL), there is a sigh of relief for Ghanaians.

Nonetheless, to make this sense of relief count, there is a need for it to reflect on transport fares, which ultimately determine the prices of goods and services in the country.

In view of that, the Daily Graphic commends the GPRTU, the Ministry of Transport and other bodies under the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC) for holding a consultative meeting that decided on a 15 per cent decrease in transport fares countrywide to bring some respite to traders, commuters and every section of the public that uses public transport.

We find it disturbing, though, that in spite of the decrease taking effect last Saturday, May 24, 2025, some drivers are adamant, saying the determination of fares is not only dependent on fuel prices.

But be that as it may, apart from this sounding like a broken record which has often been played by commercial drivers only when it suits them, the Daily Graphic wants to put on record that according to the leadership of the GPRTU, 15 per cent was agreed, although spare parts dealers have not as yet reduced their prices, and none of the lubricants which went up has been reduced currently.

That suggests that, much as we all agree that it is not only fuel prices that determine the cost of transportation but all other expenses incurred in maintaining a vehicle, the percentage cut could have been more if all other stakeholders, vis-à-vis parts and lubricant dealers, had also reduced their prices.

Therefore, we urge all stakeholders in the transport business to also reduce prices and not hide behind claims that they obtained their goods at high prices. After all, when prices are increased, even the prices of old stock are inflated to cash in on the windfall.

Everyone has complained about the high cost of living, and in fact, that contributed to the way last year’s election went.

To ease that high cost, we must not take undue advantage of one another, but support policies that will benefit us, such as what has resulted in the cedi becoming stronger against the dollar and other major trading currencies.

We urge all commercial drivers and stakeholders in the transport sector to reduce their fares and prices as their import costs reduce, rather than fleecing us.  

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