Commercial drivers start charging new fares

Drivers and transport operators in many parts of the country have begun charging new fares as a result of the 10 per cent increment in fares announced recently, but some drivers in the Tamale and the Bolgatanga metropolises in the Northern and the Upper East regions, respectively, are yet to fully implement the new fares.

Unlike in the past when the implementation of new fares resulted in arguments and confusion between drivers’ mates and passengers, this time round there was general calm, as passengers paid the new fares without complaining, with many of them attributing the development to communication about the new fares from the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) a week before the implementation.

Interestingly, barely a day into the charging of the new fares, some drivers and the welfare heads of drivers unions in Accra are already calling for further increment in the fares.

Some taxi drivers in Tamale, the capital of the Northern Region, are yet to charge the new fares in a bid to avoid losing customers to the operators of the tricycles being used as public transport.

Samuel Duodu in Tamale reports that most taxi drivers told the Daily Graphic that their business had been affected by the presence of the tricycles, popularly known as ‘Yellow Yellow’ or ‘Pragia’, as majority of residents of the metropolis now preferred the tricycles to taxis, for which reason any attempt to charge the new fares could worsen the situation.

“I would love to charge the new fares, but, unfortunately, business has not been that good, as the operators of ‘Yellow Yellow’ are threatening business. If I charge the new fares, I may not be able to make my daily sales,” Yakubu Issah, a taxi driver, explained.

The tricycles charge GH¢1 to every destination within the metropolis and they have also not increased their fares, while the taxis charge GH¢1.30 from the central business district (CBD) to the SSNIT Flats at Fuo, for instance, and GH¢2 to the Kamina Barracks.

Also, the fare charged by some of the buses that run from Tamale to Accra remains the same at GH¢90, checks at the Imperial Express, Go Transport, VVIP, VIP and O.A. Transport have revealed.

One of the bookmen at Imperial Express told the Daily Graphic that the fare from Tamale to Accra remained the same, since the station increased the fare before the 10 per cent increment was announced.

Apart from these cases, other operators have begun implementing the 10 per cent increment, with Alhaji Salifu Masahudu, the Regional Industrial Relations Officer of the GPRTU, saying it has been a smooth implementation .

Visits to the various lorry stations in the CBD of the metropolis did not witness any disagreement or heated argument between drivers and passengers, as the latter complied with the new fares.

From Bolgatanga, Vincent Amenuveve reports that the Upper East Regional branch of the GPRTU is yet to effect the 10 per cent increase in transport fares in the region, as it was holding a crucial meeting with executives of the union at the time of filing this report.

The Upper East Regional Chairman of the GPRTU, Mr Godfred Abulbira, told the Daily Graphic that for now drivers were to maintain the old fares until the meeting came up with the new fares, probably by the close of yesterday.

He, however, indicated that there was the possibility that after the meeting, some routes might not attract the increases, while others would attract increases, depending on the outcome of deliberations.

Checks at the long-distance bus terminals at the Bolgatanga Lorry Station showed that drivers were still maintaining the old fares, pending the outcome of the GPRTU executives meeting.

Commuters

Meanwhile, commuters have started complaining about the intention of the GPRTU to increase fares, although the new fares were yet to take effect.

An unemployed nurse, Madam Atongo Latifa, stated that the increases were likely to have an effect on her budget, saying: “Life is currently unbearable for me and so the government and the GPRTU should do well to reduce the fares because my movement in search for opportunities, for instance, will be hindered.”

According to her, she would not be surprised if drivers started charging GH¢10 from Bolgatanga to Bawku, where she lived, instead of the previous GH¢8.

A student, Ms Sahadatu Iddrisu, noted that the government and the GPRTU must take a second look at the fares because already most of the roads in the region were bad and if drivers and transport owners factored that into the increases, practically fares might go beyond the 10 per cent increment.

From Sunyani, Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah reports that there has been mixed reaction to the 10 per cent increase in lorry fares in the Sunyani municipality.

While some drivers have gone out of their way to increase fares, others say they are waiting for directives from their transport unions and the Sunyani Municipal Assembly to increase fares.

“Even though we have heard about the increase in lorry fares, there should be a meeting between our leaders and the Sunyani Municipal Assembly to come up with new fares and that is what we are waiting for,” Abdulai Yakubu, a taxi driver who plies between Yamfo and Sunyani, told the Daily Graphic.

However, another driver, Nicholas Mensah, who plies between the CBD of Sunyani and Fiapre and Berlin Top, both suburbs of Sunyani, had increased his fare from GH¢1.80 to GH¢2.

He stated that passengers had had no problem with him so far, since the 20Gp increase seemed insignificant to them.

“We are waiting to see in the coming days if passengers will argue with us over the increment in fares,” he said, and explained that the occasional increase in the cost of fuel and other items justified the increase in fares.

In Accra, Rejoice Lavinia Eklu and Anima Adjei report that there was general calm at the lorry stations, as passengers verified the new fares as posted on the various notice boards before boarding vehicles and ensured that they paid the exact fare without any argument over change.

Nana Kumi, a Deputy Trustee at the Tema Station, said he did not want to comment on passenger reactions “because the day hasn’t ended and, therefore, we cannot determine how passengers will accept the fares as the day goes by”.

Edward Opare, a driver at the Tema Station, said: “After two round trips this morning, passengers have been calm and cooperative. We wish to add more to the fare at the end of the day due to the distance.”

Grievances of drivers

The Chairman of the Odorkor Executive Branch, Mr George Hoffman, told the Daily Graphic that although the GPRTU had a say in the percentage increase announced, the actual fare was eventually determined by the heads of the stations who could decide to slash certain fares they deemed uncalled for, such as 10Gp or 5Gp.

He, however, said the 10 per cent increment was not enough because fuel prices had been increased on many occasions.

Some drivers also said the increment was inadequate to help them break even, complaining that the cost of spare parts affected sales and all that should be checked when announcing increments in fares.

They said, for instance, that a car spring which used to sell at GH¢300 was now GH¢500, which affected profit and sales.

Although the increment had been effected, some stations claimed they did not effect any changes in their fares.

A taxi driver at Kaneshie, Attah Kwabena, said: “At Swanlake, for instance, we are still taking GH¢1.70 because we are competing with ‘trotro’, which is close to us and they charge less.”