Editorial: Government Should Expedite Action On Transport Crisis

Last week, Vice President Naana Jane Opoku-Agyeman met stakeholders to address the growing public transport challenges confronting the country.

The engagement followed sustained media attention on Ghana’s failing transport system, which has exposed how drivers and their mates continue to exploit commuters through unapproved fares and poor service delivery.

Following the meeting, the Vice President proceeded to the Ministry of Transport, where she held a high-level engagement with other key stakeholders.

There, she announced that government would provide buses for the Greater Accra Passenger Transport Executive (GAPTE), operators of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, popularly known as Aayalolo.

This announcement was presented as confirmation of government’s commitment to supplying high-occupancy buses to help modernise public transportation.

The Vice President further assured Ghanaians that government would introduce high-capacity buses to ferry passengers safely and efficiently to their destinations as part of broader transport sector reforms.

The Chronicle welcomes this assurance, coming at a time when the transport crisis has engulfed the entire country, particularly during rush hours in major urban centres.

However, we must point out that this response only partially addresses the concerns raised in our recent editorials, including “Ghana’s Cities Are Suffocating Under Decades of Policy Failure” and “The GPRTU Cartel: Why Ghana’s Public Transport Is Broken.”

We, therefore, urge the state to expedite action, as Ghana’s current transport system remains in a deplorable condition.

More than 70 per cent of Ghanaians, especially those in urban areas such as Accra, depend heavily on public transport.

Informal minibuses, popularly known as trotros, remain the backbone of daily commuting due to their affordability and accessibility for the working class. However, the system is poorly regulated, overstretched and grossly inadequate.

Every day, millions of Ghanaians heading to work and other important engagements are trapped in traffic, losing valuable productive hours.

A journey that should take 30 minutes often lasts an hour or more. This frustration is worsened by the exploitation of commuters by drivers and their mates, who impose unapproved fare increases on passengers who have already endured long queues.

Equally troubling is the issue of safety. Most trotros currently in operation are converted cargo vehicles originally designed to transport goods rather than people.

Passenger seats are poorly constructed often by roadside welders without engineering standards, adequate cushioning or protective mechanisms.

Many of these vehicles lack basic safety features such as headrests, exposing passengers to serious risk in the event of accidents.

When government speaks of modernising public transport, it must go beyond rhetoric. A truly modern system must include high-capacity buses and dedicated lanes to ensure smooth movement, strict safety standards and effective regulation.

The Chronicle also urges the state to confront the excessive influence of transport unions such as the GPRTU, which over the years have become an albatross around the necks of commuters, by resisting reform and perpetuating inefficiencies.

Any modern public transport system must operate on dedicated lanes, similar to the Aayalolo BRT lanes that were abandoned after President John Dramani Mahama left office in 2017. Additionally, such a system should integrate digital solutions, including e-ticketing and smart card access, to improve efficiency, transparency and accountability.

The transport challenge in Ghana is real. It is not exaggerated, and it must not be trivialised. The Chronicle, therefore, urges the Presidency and government at large to attach the utmost seriousness to the transport crisis.

This is not merely a transport issue it is a national economic and productivity challenge affecting the lives of Ghanaians from Bawku to Axim.

 

 

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