Industrial Relations Officer for the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Abass Imoro, has said the decision to decrease transport fares is built on compassion from the association to the public.
According to Mr. Imoro, the union only saw it prudent to cushion Ghanaians with a reduction in transport fares just when the cost of fuel is also declining.
Speaking to the media on Friday, December 16, he asserted that the GPRTU has played a paramount role concerning the decision to reduce fares by 15.3% and not solely the works of the Ministry of Transport as circulated.
“We considered reducing lorry fares because of the reduction in fuel prices. We thought it wise to reduce it to 15 percent which we strongly believe will be an Xmas bonus to all our clients.
“The Transport Ministry was expecting more than what we have just come out with, and we were also not prepared to go by their demand. This is because, we demonstrated to them that as we speak, there is a very big deficit between the fuel increment from some period up to now and the lorry fares that we also charged from that period up to now, so the passengers are also owing us a lot but what can we do? The passengers are our relatives so we had to do whatever we had to do to sanitize the relationship between us. So we have decided to decrease lorry fares by 15.3 percent effective December 19,” he added.
He however noted that should prices of fuel at the pumps increase, the GPRTU will have no other option than to do the needful by adjusting fares upwards.
“The price of lorry fares will remain reduced but if they [the Government] come out tomorrow and increase the fuel price to an extent where we have to change the lorry fares, why won’t we change ours too?” he quizzed.
The Transport Ministry on Thursday, December 16 asked commuters across the country to anticipate lower transportation costs.
“We understand that the fares will definitely come down. It is the margin of reduction that we are still negotiating. We are waiting for the next pricing window on Friday [December 16, 2022].
“So when the new prices are announced, we will see the clearest picture and we will see the percentage margin for the reduction of fares. We do not have the full picture until the window opens on Friday. Hopefully, by Monday, the general public should see a reduction in transport fares,” he added.
In an interview with the media, the Deputy Transport Minister, Hassan Tampuli, said his outfit is bargaining for a margin that will be equitable to both travelers and transport operators.
Source: The Independent Ghana