COMMERCIAL DRIVERS REDUCE FARES

HE Ghana Road Transport Co-ordinating Council (GRTCC) has reduced transport fares by an average of 10 per cent for long distance journeys and 5Gp for “trotro” vehicles that ply short distances.
“Trotro” vehicles on short journeys, such as, from Adenta to Madina or Kaneshie to Circle, that charge 15 GP or 20 GP will not realise any discount.
However, fares of 25 GP and above for distances like Adenta to Accra and Accra to Kaneshie have all been reduced by 5Gp, which is about a 20 per cent reduction in some cases.
For taxi services, kilometres run by the taxi is used in the determination of the fare and, in effect, the current reduction.
Most taxi drivers have been encouraged to reduce their fares by 50Gp, however, the Chairman of the GRTCC, Mr Matthew Hayford, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic, said for taxi drivers, the competition they faced with other commercial vehicles, such as, the “trotros” had compelled them to generally keep their fares low.
He said taxi drivers, in previous reduction exercises, were already charging fares lower than those announced, and they had thus not adjusted their fares.
However, they were being encouraged to reduce their fares, despite the fact that they still had low fares.
Mr Hayford said although the specific details of the reduction in fares would be out by the close of day and disseminated to all their constituents in the regions, deliberations on the issue was concluded with general consensus by most members of the GRTCC on Friday.
Based on the general consultation, some communication had been provided to get the message of the reduction in fares to drivers nation-wide.
Mr Hayford said his monitoring had shown compliance with the directive, although he had received complaints from Takoradi and Kumasi about some drivers who were adamant.
He said these challenges were being addressed to ensure that commuters enjoyed the benefits of the reduction in fuel prices.
15/12/09