How do we get out of this transport fares conundrum?

The fixing of transport fares is not new in the country, especially when there have been hikes in fuel and spare parts prices.

But upward adjustments in fuel prices are usually used as reason to charge higher transport fares — and the country has had so many instances of that in the past years.

There is always a banter between transport owners and the government whenever members of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), the Progressive Transport Owners Association (PROTOA) and other transport operators decide to  adjust transport fares in view of increases in the prices of fuel.

However, although the government and transport owners always agree that fuel is not the only factor that constitutes the cost incurred in operating vehicles and public transport, in the end there is always agreement to increase the fares.

Increases in transport fares always invariably affect the cost of living. The prices of food items, clothing, building materials and all other consumables shoot up anytime transport fares are reviewed upwards. Even on the few occasions when fuel prices are adjusted downwards, the prices of items on the market do not come down.

The same scenario seems to be playing out again, after a 15 per cent increase in transport fares had been announced by transport operators. Although the prices of fuel products went up by 27 per cent as a result of the Energy Sector Levies (ESL) Act passed by Parliament last December, crude oil prices have gone down by two per cent on the world market.

Transport operators must be commended for instructing their members to stay put and not increase transport fares when fuel price increases took effect on January 4, 2016.

That notwithstanding, it is an understatement to say that the 15 per cent increase in fares that has been effected will let the prices of goods escalate, as has been the case anytime transport fares go up, not to talk about heated arguments and fights between commuters and commercial drivers and their conductors over the payment of new fares.

The Daily Graphic wonders why we need to regulate lorry fares in a liberalised system and also at a time when crude oil prices are falling. Why not allow the transport operators to fix their own realistic fares? If the government would like to give them a run for their money, why doesn’t it fix its own fares on the Metro Mass and other government transport, so that the public and market forces determine the right fares?

Did transport operators break even with the old fares? We believe that the many rickety commercial vehicles that we see on our roads, which often leave commuters stranded in the middle of their journey, and the haste with which commercial drivers  drop off passengers to return to pick other passengers, which results in many road crashes, may not always be due to greed on their part. It may be because they want to do everything within their means to break even – even at the cost of their lives and those of the commuters they carry.

We urge the government to act swiftly on this unending saga of fuel price increases and the upward adjustment in transport fares, not only to save the public the headache of always having to pay more for transport when salaries have not been adjusted but also save the economy from the upward spiral that makes the cost of living unbearable for the citizens.