The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), has revealed that there will be a 30% increment on transport fares starting September 21, 2022.
According to the union, it has become imperative to increase transport fares due to spiralling prices of commodities in the country. It indicated that the increase by the unions is “due to the increment in fuel products, spare parts and the poor management of the economy” by the government.
“In consultation with our mother body, the GPRTU of TUC, we wish to announce to the general public that there will a 30% increment on fares starting September 21, 2022.”
GPRTU
Contained in a joint statement by the various transport unions, it noted that due to the hardship and economic difficulty in the country, they are unable to make enough money to cater for their family and pay off loans.
“Electricity tariffs, water tariffs, prices of spare parts, prices of food and pure water prices have all increased, hence we have no option than to also increase our fares.”
GPRTU
The transport unions thus, urged the general public to cooperate with them on the new fares coming September 21, 2022. Meanwhile, it has charged its members to only charge the approved percentage.
“We are cautioning our members not to charge more than the agreed 30%.”
GPRTU
Hikes in fuel prices in the country
The GPRTU had earlier described as alarming, the recent hikes in prices of petroleum products in the country. Fuel prices at the local pumps shot up by about 5.4 per cent from September 1, 2022, with petrol and diesel trading at an average of GHC11.55 and GHC14.50 respectively.
At the beginning of the year, petrol and diesel were trading at an average of ¢6.9 and ¢7.0 per litre respectively.
It will be recalled that transport fares went up by 20 percent in May. As at May 9, 2022, when the new fares took effect, petrol and diesel were selling at a national average of GHC9.41 and GHC11.12, respectively.
The leadership of the Ghana Private Roads Transport Union (GPRTU) on September 11, 2022, indicated it will soon communicate to the public new transportation fares following the incessant increase in fuel prices.
The union stated that the continuous rise in the price of petroleum products is draining the finances of commercial vehicle owners. Head of Communications at GPRTU, Abbas Moro, noted that members under the union are pushing for an increase in transport fares.
“We have sensitized the general public that whenever the prices of fuel go up 10 percent above the existing price, automatically we are supposed to increase fares. There are so many things to look out for including the current economic situation. So for where we are heading towards, we cannot keep sacrificing; definitely when our leadership meets something positive must come out.”
Abbas Moro
Nonetheless, the Chief Executive Officer of National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, was optimistic that fuel prices would drop. He highlighted that the country has enough fuel to meet the demands, emphasizing that there should be no concern regarding the supply of diesel.
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