Transport Fares Drop By 15.3% From Today

Road transport operators have reduced fares by 15.3% effective Monday, December 19, 2022.

This was communicated in a joint press statement from the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC).

Petroleum products at the pumps witnessed a drop in prices in the second pricing window of December 2022.

Petrol is now selling at around GHc13 per litre at some pumps from GHC15 whereas diesel goes for GH₵16 per litre from GHc18.

The drop in the prices has been attributed to the 6.60% appreciation of the cedi by the Institute for Energy Security (IES).

Last week, the spokesperson of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Abbas Imoro said fares will be reduced when the prices of petrol and diesel drop to GHC10.

In an interview on Opemsuo radio he said, “we researched and found that from May 2020 to November 2022, fuel prices have increased by 473% whereas we increased transport fares by just 67%. The guideline is that whenever fuel is increased by 10%, transport fares must be adjusted too but we did not implement that for the increases.

“Not all the increases were passed down to the passengers and, therefore, accumulated in this huge loss for drivers. From January 2022 to November 2022, fuel prices have increased by 243% and we have increased fares by 54%.”

By that, he indicated that reducing transport fares at the current pump price will plunge drivers into losses.

But according to the release from the GPRTU and the GRTCC, stakeholders held a meeting to arrive at a 15.3% reduction.

“Following these negotiations and in consideration of the plight of drivers, commuters and the general public, we have resolved to reduce the existing transport fares by 15.3%.”

The reduction affects shared taxis, intercity for long distances, intra-city for commercial vehicles and haulage.

It further urged commercial transport operators as well as commuters to comply with the new fares.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini