Transport fares up by 15% on Monday

Caroline Boateng Jun - 19 - 2015 , 05:23

Transport fares have been revised upwards by 15 per cent by executives of road transport operators (RTOs).

The upward adjustment is to take effect from June 22, 2015.
This is the second time this year that transport fares have been increased.
The revision was announced in Accra yesterday after a meeting between the executives of RTOs and officials of the Ministry of Transport.

A statement signed by the General Secretary of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Mr Stephen K. Okudzeto, and the General Secretary of the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC), Alhaji Aliyu Baba, and released after the meeting said the RTOs had taken note of the increases in the various components in the operation of commercial transport services, including spare parts and fuel.

“As a result, road transport fares have been revised upwards to reflect the changes in the prices of the components,” it said.
It added that the review was also in line with the bi-annual review of transport fares in order to take into consideration changes in the prices of vehicle components.

Justification

The new fares will cover intra-city (trotro), inter-city (long distance) and taxi cabs.
Executives of RTOs advised their members to comply with the new fares and post the fare list at loading terminals to avoid any confrontation with commuters.

They asked the public to cooperate for the successful implementation of the review.
In justifying the review, the RTOs also released an analysis of their operational costs to date.
According to them, fuel accounted for 31 per cent of the components in the operational cost.
Therefore, with current increases in fuel prices, the RTOs calculated a 1.2 percentage increase in transport fares due to the fuel component.

Inflation and anticipated changes in inflation and projected cumulative increases in fuel prices from July to December 2015 of 20 per cent were some of the indicators used in arriving at the reviewed fares.
Alhaji Baba, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said the 15 per cent upward adjustment would just help transport operators to break even and was not the actual increase for a profitable transport business.

However, in consideration of the public and the intervention by the government not to let commuters bear all the cost, the RTOs had increased fares by only 15 per cent, he added.