The Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), Duncan Amoah, says continued increases in fuel prices will inevitably put pressure on public transport fares.

According to him, transport operators are already grappling with rising diesel and petrol costs, making it increasingly difficult for them to sustain their operations without adjusting fares.

Mr Amoah said the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) should therefore not be blamed for the pressure it is facing, although he cautioned against arbitrary fare increases by individual drivers.

“You can’t blame them. It has gotten to a point where their import costs clearly… If they are not careful, they may not be able to sustain the ferrying of people back and forth.”

His comments follow reports of some transport operators increasing fares, with the GPRTU previously attributing such increases to what it described as “floating drivers” operating outside the union’s coordinated fare structure.

Mr Amoah said that while fare adjustments may become necessary due to rising fuel costs, there must be coordination to protect commuters from excessive and inconsistent charges.

“I also don’t subscribe to the arbitrary charge by a section of their members, who will charge anything that the mate or the driver decides to. So there has to be a certain coordinated effort.”

He warned that allowing individual operators to determine fares could create confusion and further burden commuters.

Mr Amoah further urged consumers to brace themselves for the broader impact of rising fuel prices, noting that higher transportation costs could eventually translate into increased prices for goods and services.

He explained that such pressures are an inevitable consequence of Ghana’s deregulated petroleum pricing regime.

“Everyday consumer is, of course, inconvenienced by these price movements, but that is also what you get in a deregulated environment.”

COPEC pushes for dual pricing mechanism

The COPEC Executive Secretary also reiterated the organisation’s call for a more sustainable petroleum pricing model to cushion consumers from sharp fluctuations in global fuel prices.

He said COPEC has been engaging the Ministry of Energy on the proposed dual pricing mechanism, which would allow government to adjust its tax component depending on prevailing international petroleum prices.

“We are still discussing with the ministry to move towards a more sustainable petroleum pricing model that we probably have advocated for over the years, called the dual pricing mechanism.”

Mr Amoah acknowledged government’s recent efforts to reduce taxes on petroleum products but argued that a longer-term solution was needed.

“The government seems to be doing quite well with reducing taxes at this point, but you need to find a more sustainable method that allows the government to get a little more tax when prices are favourable and a little less tax when prices are unfavourable.”

He also called for the establishment of a strategic petroleum reserve programme as part of measures to improve Ghana’s resilience to international price shocks.