Although the earlier announcement by the Concerned Drivers Association to increase fares wasn’t successful, the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) has now confirmed that processes have commenced to officially increase fares.
The Concerned Drivers Association last week announced a 15% increment which was scheduled to take effect on November 2. However, the GPRTU called on the public to disregard the increment on the grounds that it failed to follow due process. That decision brought some relief to commuters.
However it appears that consolation was short-lived as the largest transport union in the country has confirmed that processes have been triggered leading to upward adjustment of transport fares.
“We have started working on it. It is not a one-day affair. We have to collect samples of what we want to use and their prices and the reason why we want to change the current lorry fares upwardly. We have to do that in such a way that we will be in a very good position to defend whatever we presented. So we have started with the processes,” the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the GPRTU told The High Street Journal in an interview on Monday.
Abbas Moro Ibrahim however assured commuters that the increment will take into consideration the current economic hardship while ensuring that the transport business in the country remains sustainable.
“We will look at the critical situation in which we are currently. We will want to plead with our colleague professional drivers, we will do whatever possible to make sure we sustain the transport industry,” he noted.
He added, “We want to assure the general public also that we are there for them. They are our clients. Anytime we come out with something, they should also understand and support us.”
