The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has warned commercial transport operators against charging illegal fares, announcing tougher sanctions including prosecution and public naming of offenders.

The warning was issued during an engagement with leaders of 24 registered transport unions in the metropolis to discuss practical ways to make transportation in Kumasi safer, more organised and efficient.

The meeting, which forms part of KMA's quarterly engagements with transport operators, focused on traffic congestion, terminal management, indiscriminate loading, destination indicators, road safety, and enforcement of transport regulations.

Addressing the unions, the Head of KMA's Transport Department, Randy Wilson, said the engagement was necessitated by a recent General Assembly resolution to prepare for the Christmas season.

Mr Wilson was emphatic that charging fares outside the approved rates is a punishable offence and KMA will no longer be lenient.

According to him, the old regime where offending vehicles were merely impounded and made to pay a fine is over.

"It is known that collecting illegal transport fares is a punishable offence. In the past, any vehicle that did that was impounded and made to pay a fine. This time the Assembly has decided that we are going to prosecute the driver and we might even bring in the vehicle owner," he warned.

He added that KMA will publish the names of drivers and vehicle owners who are prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others.

"Not only are we prosecuting, but we are also going to publish whoever flouts the rule and gets prosecuted so that it serves as a deterrent to all transport operators. It won't be business as usual," he stressed.

Revert to Old Fares—KMA Orders

Mr Wilson also directed all unions and routes that had unilaterally increased fares before the official 8% increment to immediately revert.

He explained that the approved 8% increment must be calculated on the existing, approved fare and not on illegally adjusted fares.

"Anybody or any route that has adjusted their fares before the new increment came is supposed to revert to what was supposed to be collected. For instance, if you were taking 5 cedis and you increased it to 6 cedis, if the 8% calculation falls within that, then it should be recharged. You cannot say the 8% increment is going to be calculated on the 6 cedis you put yourself up for," he said.

He continued: "We will insist you calculate from the existing fare with the 8% increment, not the new one. So every station that tried to increase it, please go back to the old fare, apply the 8%, and then charge that fare."

Mr Wilson warned that KMA task forces will be deployed across major terminals and loading points to monitor compliance, and any driver found culpable will have his vehicle arrested and prosecuted.

The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Progressive Transport Owners' Association (PROTOA) and leader of the 24 registered transport unions in the region, Joseph Mensah, declared the full backing of all unions for the Assembly's arrest and name-and-shame initiative.

MMrMensah said the move is timely and necessary to restore discipline and sanity on the roads and in fare administration within the metropolis.

He blamed unregulated 'trotro' operators for the charging of unapproved fares and the worrying practice of short-short loading, where passengers are forced to pay multiple fares for short distances.

According to him, the activities of these unregulated operators are tarnishing the image of law-abiding transport unions and creating unnecessary tension between drivers and passengers.

He cited Regulation 146 of Ghana's Road Traffic Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2180), which requires all commercial drivers and operators to belong to a recognised transport union, noting that many trotro operators currently operating outside the union system are responsible for indiscipline and non-compliance on the roads.

To address the challenge, Mr Mensah called on the KMA to issue and distribute official stickers to all registered commercial vehicles whose drivers belong to recognised unions.

"This will help to expose the trotro operators who are not under any union and are charging unapproved fares," he noted, adding that the sticker system will make enforcement easier and protect passengers from exploitation.

The Regional Director of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Kwasi Agyenim Boateng, urged operators to prioritise compliance with road safety regulations to help save lives, noting that a safer and more efficient transport system requires collective effort.

Speaking on behalf of the mayor, the Metro Coordinating Director, Francis Dwira Darko, emphasised the importance of continuous engagement with transport operators to identify challenges and find practical solutions.

He reaffirmed KMA's commitment to working with stakeholders to improve mobility and enhance the daily experience of commuters across Kumasi.