The public transport crisis is solvable

When the Vice-President, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, paid a working visit to the Ministry of Transport in Accra yesterday, issues surrounding current public transport difficulties formed a core part of the conversation with the leadership of the ministry.

The Vice-President’s visit and the discussions around public transport challenges followed a government announcement last Wednesday that relevant government officials had scheduled a meeting with transport operators to discuss challenges around public transport.

These challenges include non-availability of means of public transport during rush hours in particular and high fares relative to recent consistent drop in fuel prices.

It was a matter of course that the Vice-President’s working visits to various ministries this week would take her to the Transport Ministry, given the prime status the subject around public transport had generated lately.

During the period, various theories, including exploitation of the public and structural deficiencies of the transport infrastructure, have come to the fore as key factors contributing to the difficulties.

In response, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said at yesterday’s engagement at the Transport Ministry that government was taking steps to modernise the public transport system through retooling and improved coordination across both state-run and private services to enhance affordability, accessibility and security for commuters.

While this would be a medium to long-term solution to a cyclical problem, the announcement that government has directed support for Metro Mass Transit, Aayalolo and private operators through the introduction of new high-occupancy buses to expand capacity and ease pressure on existing services is a heart-warming idea.

The Vice-President further revealed that efforts were underway to expedite payments owed to service providers to enable them to deploy more buses on the roads as quickly as possible (refer to our front page lead).

It is welcoming that government recognises that the challenges with the public transport system require urgent solution.

The challenges, it must be emphasised, have far-reaching consequences that affect public health,    healthcare delivery, productivity and national security.

Since the last few weeks preceding the Yuletide, public transport has almost upset the celebrations associated with the holiday as heavy traffic, scarcity of transport means and illegal fare hikes have attended the public transport system.

During this period, it has become common to see a mass of commuters on foot during rush hours, commuting long distances that otherwise would require motorised transport means.

The public cannot wait for the issues to be resolved as quickly as possible.

But while the state plays its part, commercial transport operators need to be patriotic and considerate of the circumstances of the average citizen.

Over the past one year, government policies have driven down the exchange rate, with the Ghana cedi gaining against its major trading counterparts, notably the dollar.

Through this effort, fuel prices have remained on a constant slide downwards.

This effectively nullified the excuse of a weaker cedi and attendant higher inflation driving up transport fares and cost of living.

Transport operators owe it a duty to the public to respond to the positive shift in fuel prices so that the benefits would cascade down to the average citizen on the lower end of resources who utilise public transport means.

It must be all hands on deck to tackle the current public transport crisis.