GPRTU in W/R calls on passengers to prepare for fare increment

Chairman of the Western Regional Branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Mr Kwesi Ansah has urged passengers to be prepared for at least a 30% increment in transport fares.

The Union is expected to announce the increment by Monday, May 17, to avoid any brawl among drivers, passengers, and conductors.

Their decision comes after stakeholder consultations on the various increments in petroleum products and other taxes for some time now.

The Union Chairman, told the GNA that since the emergence of Covid-19, drivers had been prevented from increasing the fares though the price of spare parts and other vehicle-related expenditure continued to soar.

According to him, the tax component on fuel per the 2021 Budget needed to be factored in, that is the thirty Pesewa increase in prices of petroleum products which was also expected to have taken effect from May 1, 2021.

Mr Ansah said they were therefore pushing for a 30 per cent increase in fares since fuel prices had increased from GH₵4.25p to GH₵6.13p per litre which is almost 50 per cent.

In a related development, a group known as the Concerned Drivers Association also indicated that they were going to increase transport fares by 40 per cent, despite the position of the GPRTU.

According to them, they have resolved to increase the fares, despite the government’s announcement of a reduction in the price of fuel by eight pesewas per litre.

Meanwhile, checks by the Ghana News Agency at the various lorry stations in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis (STMA) and the Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipality (EKMA) revealed no increment in the fares yet.