The leadership of the Concerned Drivers Union is unhappy with the latest directive to reduce transport fares by 10 percent. The drop meant fare prices have increased by 5 percent in the aggregate since the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
“We are not in support of the 5 percent left for us,” the union’s Vice-Chairman, David Agboado, told Citi News.
According to the union, the new percentage will negatively impact their business.
The group had earlier increased fares by 30 percent in clear disregard for the 15 percent approved by the government.
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The latest drop came after the President announced that commercial vehicles could now take their full capacity.
Transport fares increased by 15 percent in July because operators were struggling with the cap on passengers because of the social distancing brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fuel prices were also on the rise after initial drops during the onset of the pandemic.
With the latest developments, Mr. Agboado, however, admitted that their initial demands needed to be softened.
“Now that the COVID-19 restrictions have somehow calmed and we should go to normalcy. So the 30 percent will be abnormal so we will reduce it but not to that 5 percent.”
The reduction in fares is set to take effect on August 1.
This was after the transport operators held a meeting with the Transport Ministry on Tuesday, July 28, 2020.
The Ghana Private Road Transport Union, Progressive Transport Owners’ Association, State Transport Company, Metro Mass and VIP were among the stakeholders in that meeting.
