Car, motor dealers take over BRT lanes

Some spare parts, car and motor dealers have taken over the dedicated lanes recently built for the Bus Rapid Transport System (BRT) and Quality Bus System (QBS) buses.

The dealers, who operate mainly at Circle and Avenor in Accra, park their items on the lanes meant for the buses.

According to some of them, they do not have places to park their cars so the only place to do so is the bus lanes.

Even though there are clear signages by the roadside indicating that such lanes are meant for the QBS buses, the drivers have closed their eyes to them.

Despite regular police patrols on those lanes, the Head of Transport Planning and Enforcement at the Greater Accra Passenger Transport Executive (GAPTE), operators of the Aayalolo buses, Mr Michael Konadu, said there was the need to increase police presence.

He added that the management would soon be meeting the Ghana Police Service to find ways to increase their visibility on the lanes.

Background

The BRT is under the Urban Transport Project (UTP) of the Ministry of Roads and Highways. It is jointly funded by the World Bank, Agence Francaise de Development (AFD), the Government of Ghana and the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund at a cost of $95 million. It is being implemented by the Ministries of Local Government and Rural Development, Roads and Highways and the DUR.

Processes towards the implementation of the BRT were started in 2007. However, between 2008 and 2009, it faced many difficulties, including stiff resistance from private transport operators.

Earlier, the DUR planned implementing an advanced type of BRT on the Accra-Mallam-Kasoa corridor.

That move resulted in the construction of a flyover across the railway line on the Graphic Road in Accra.