Some commercial transport operators at Tech Junction in the Oforikrom Municipality of the Ashanti Region have increased their fares by one Ghana cedi, citing rising fuel prices.
The drivers say the increase is intended to help them cope with the high cost of fuel and ensure they can continue operating their vehicles and transporting passengers to their destinations.
Speaking to AdomNews, Kwaku Baafi said the drivers under the PROTOA group, together with their station masters, agreed to introduce the additional one cedi to cushion them against the rising cost of fuel.
“The fuel price is high, and we cannot borrow money to buy fuel and work. At the end of the day, we hardly make any income because of the high fuel prices. We are appealing to the government to do something about it,” he said.
The drivers say they will withdraw the additional charge if fuel prices are reduced.
However, the Protoa Station Master, Alhaji Hassan Yusuf Sadick, explained that there has been no official fare increment from the transport operators’ leadership.
He said the additional charge was introduced in response to the fuel situation, which, according to him, was making some drivers reluctant to operate, especially in the evenings.
“When it gets to the evening, passengers are stranded here because they cannot get cars to their various destinations. Some of our drivers refuse to work because of the high fuel prices. So, to ease the burden on passengers, we added the additional charge to encourage the drivers to work and transport passengers to their destinations,” he said.
Alhaji Hassan added that most passengers have accepted the additional charge because they understand the challenges facing the drivers.
Some passengers, however, appealed to the government to take urgent steps to reduce fuel prices, saying this could ultimately bring down transport fares.
They said although they did not support the fare increase, they understood that the rising cost of fuel was a major factor behind the additional charge.
