Toyota Voxy drivers in Takoradi have expressed displeasure about the government’s decision to ban the use of the vehicle for inter-city or long-distance travel.

The Voxy Station Chairman at the Takoradi-Accra transport terminal, Stephen Essandoh, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said the proposed ban could have a significant impact on the livelihoods of drivers who depended on the Toyota Voxy vehicle for survival.

The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) earlier this month declared the use of the Toyota Voxy vehicles as not fit for long-distance or commercial passenger transport operations, noting that they posed safety risks on inter-city routes.

However, Mr Essandoh stated that the issue of road traffic crashes involving the Toyota Voxy was not due to the mechanical integrity of the vehicles but mainly the fault of some of the drivers.

He said, "When a new type of vehicle comes into the system, we normally have some of these safety concerns, but with time, everything becomes normal, so we do not agree with the government’s decision to ban us from using the vehicle for long-distance travel.”

On the safety concerns regarding the reconfiguration from right to left-hand drive, he said, "This is not anything new to us. We have had other types of vehicles that have undergone the same reconfiguration but have not caused any problems, so this should also not be an issue.”

Mr Essandoh encouraged the NRSA and other relevant stakeholders in the transport sector to intensify road safety education and enforcement mechanisms among drivers to help reduce the crashes on the roads.

He said as part of efforts to ensure the safety of passengers, the leadership of the Voxy Station in Takoradi undertook periodic sensitisation for its drivers to help curb crashes on their routes.