Place transport companies under one authority — MP

A member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Roads and Transport, Mr Samuel Ayeh-Paye, has called for the establishment of a road regulatory authority to oversee the numerous transport companies in the country.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayensuano in the 􀀀Suhum/Kraboa/Coaltar District of the Eastern Region made the call last Friday during a workshop facilitated by the World Bank, in collaboration with the Transport and Local Government ministries, to discuss traffic congestion in Accra.

The workshop on urban transport was also to find solutions to the myriad of challenges facing road transport in Accra, particularly congestion.

Mr Ayeh-Paye, an engineer, was the transport manager of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Waste Management Department from 1999 to 2000, the workshop manager of Metro Mass Transit (MMT) from 2003 to 2005 and an Assistant technical manager of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), from 2005 to 2008.

Mr Ayeh-Paye said the numerous transport organisations in the country made it very difficult if not impossible to find solutions to challenges in the transport sector.

Regulatory body

“What the Committee on Roads and Transport has proposed to the Ministry of Transport is for a regulatory body.

If you go to the aviation sector, we have the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and the Ghana Airport Company which regulate all airlines, whether local or international.

“When you come to the sea, we have the Ghana Maritime Authority and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority that regulate activities on the sea.

When we come to rails,in a situation where we have just about two or three lines operating, we have the Ghana Railways Authority and the Ghana Railway
Company Limited.

“Ghana Railway Authority is a regulatory authority that regulates a single (one) company, which is the Ghana Railway Company, so if we have an authority to
regulate one company, how many road transport companies do we have in this company?” Mr Ayeh-Paye asked.

He argued that already there were so many associations in the transport sector such as the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Progressive Transport
Owners Association (PROTOA) but there was no regulatory body to streamline their activities.

“So there is the need for us to get a regulatory authority, Ghana Road Transport Regulatory Authority, whose duty will be to regulate all transport companies and associations,” he urged.

Discussions

Discussions at the workshop centred on whether the improvements to urban mobility should be part of the country’s priority, the key mobility challenges and the ministry that should take the lead role in addressing issues of mobility as the issue was multi-sectoral.

Participants, who included representatives of the two ministries, transport associations and companies, also
deliberated on how best to empower the lead ministry and coordination across ministries.

Some of the pertinent issues raised were the types of vehicles used for public transport and their poor condition, the lack of space in the city for further road expansion, encroachment on spaces earmarked for
roads, the development of an effective transport system that would make commuters prefer the use of public transport rather than the use of private cars and the need for dedicated lanes for buses, among
other issues.