The Coalition of Transport Operators has charged commercial drivers to maintain the existing transport fares until the government approves the proposed 30% upward adjustment.

On Monday, February 7, the Coalition presented a proposal for 30% increment in transport fares to the Transport Ministry for consideration and approval.

That was a decision arrived at by some 16 transport unions in a quest to protest the recent increment in fuel prices and the accompanying impact on commercial transport operators.

A member of the GPRTU communications team, Samuel Amoah, has therefore warned commercial drivers against any attempt to adjust their fares before approval by the Ministry.

“Nobody should go out there to go and increase lorry fares; it will bring confusion and problems. We are looking forward that from today to maybe the middle of the month or before the close of the month, an increment will come,” he noted.

Meanwhile, the Coalition is hopeful of a better feedback and outcome from their deliberations with government, stressing that they will not accept any proposal below 25%.

According to them, they are doing due diligence to ensure that the new transport fares reflect all the ingredients in the cost build-up in the transport sector, adding that the agreed fares should be mutually beneficial to all parties.

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

Currently, a litre of fuel has surpassed GH¢7 at some fuel pumps. Already, the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has projected fuel prices to cross GH¢8 by March, 2022.