The Coalition of Transport Operators have disclosed that starting from Monday, February 7, transport fares will be increased by 30%.

Speaking in an interview with Accra-based Citi News, the Public Relations Officer of the Concerned Drivers Association, David Agboado, hinted that passengers should expect an upward adjustment of transport fares, starting from February 7, after a meeting with the sector Minister, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah.

"On Thursday, we met at TUC, GPRTU headquarters, and we have decided to increase the transport fares by 30%. The measures we used to reach this decision are; the current increase in fuel prices, increase in the price of items we use, government charges amongst others. That is what we are going to charge after seeing the Minister on Monday".

The decision to increase transport prices follows a meeting between some 16 transport unions on Thursday, February 3, 2022. The meeting was to discuss the recent increment in fuel prices, and the accompanying impact on commercial transport operators.

The transport unions included the Ghana Private Roads Transport Union (GPRTU), Progressive Transport Owners Association (PROTOA) and the Concerned Drivers Association etc.

Over the past few weeks, there have been a consistent increase in the price of fuel at the pumps, a situation many drivers have described as insensitive. According to the concerned drivers, the increments affect their profit margins leading to hardship in their individual livelihoods.

Reacting to the recent increment on Tuesday, the Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), Mr. Duncan Amoah, told JoyNews that the reintroduction of the Price Stabilisation and Recovery Levies (PSRL) by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), is an insensitive decision.

According to him, the move by the NPA' decision will affect consumers, and pose economic difficulties for them.

"What it means in simple terms is that your fuel prices will go up by that margin. 16 pesewas for petrol, 14 pesewas for diesel, 14 pesewas for LPG. We think this is very insensitive and badly timed. Insensitive to the extent that, you have for the first time in 28 years, where crude prices have crossed 90 dollars. Mostly in January, crude prices decelerate or decline. You see prices drop.

Around this time, because of [trading] between Russia and Ukraine, and also undersupply by the OPEC block, there's a lot of pressure on crude. Prices are going up already. We complain a lot. The driver unions complain a lot. Following which the President of the Republic gave a directive that the Stabilisation and Recovery Levy, one of the levies that we had all requested to be reduced, should be zeroed. The thinking would have been that we would wait for prices to ease a bit," he stated.

On January 31, the Institute of Energy Security (IES), predicted that fuel prices are expected to go up by 25 pesewas per litre from February 1, due to an impending suspension of the Price Stabilisation and Recovery Levy (PSRL).

True to the predictions by the IES, indications at the various pumps on Tuesday morning, February 1, showed marginal increases in the price of fuel. Reacting to this, scores of consumers bemoaned the situation, and urged government to intervene accordingly.