Transport operators at Jirapa in the Upper West Region have failed to comply with the Ghana Private Roads Transport Union (GPRTU) directive to reduce transport fares by 10 percent effective from Wednesday, May 17, 2023.
A visit to the Jirapa lorry station by JirapaFm revealed that fares have not been reduced by transport operators. Passengers are therefore yet to enjoy the expected reduction.
Chairman of the Jirapa-Kumasi bus station, Tengan Simon claimed that they were already charging below the required fares. He argued that transport operators in Wa the regional capital are charging about GHC170.00 from Wa to Kumasi. According to him they charge GHC160.00 from Jirapa to Kumasi.
“We were supposed to reduce our fares but when you look at the buses, we operate the charges are already very low. We have already cutback our fares because in Wa they charge GHC170.00 but we take GHC160.00. I don’t know how much we can further reduce our fares. If GPRTU is saying we should reduce our fares by 10 percent then we should rather increase our fares if they should calculate the 10 percent from what we are currently charging.”
He appealed to the government to further reduce the prices of fuel.