Intercity STC goes into marine transport
The Intercity State Transport Corporation (ISTC) is to start marine transport operations in the country.
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The operations, the first in Ghana, will use a hovercraft, a vessel capable of travelling over land, water and other surfaces, to give commuters who have been travelling by road the option of travelling by sea by way of a hovercraft
The first phase of the operation, aimed at easing the transportation challenges facing the people, will be undertaken along the Accra-Tema coastline.
People from Tema and its environs could board the hovercraft at Mensah Guinea, near Sakumono, and get transported to the Arts Centre in Accra in a period of 36 minutes.
Tour
The Managing Director of the ISTC, Mr Samuel Nuamah Donkor, who announced this when the Minister of Transport, Mr Fifi Kwetey, visited the company to familiarise himself with its operations, did not, however, indicate when it would start.
He said the project would be replicated along the coastal waterways.
The next marine station, he said, would help transport commuters from Alflao in the Volta Region to Half Assini in the Western Region.
He said the company, which had almost been on the verge of collapse, had now been transformed into the leading transport establishment in Ghana through prudent management of its internal resources and the diversification of its operations.
He said it now operated a parcel delivery service and had also introduced a shuttle service on the Accra-Aflao route.
The company, which makes about GH¢90,000 from its parcel delivery service monthly, was considering outsourcing that operation with a target of raking in GH¢200,000 at the end of each month.
Licensing
The managing director took the minister and his entourage, which included the Deputy Minister, Mrs Muntari Bawa, to a unit which was being transformed into a vehicle testing unit to offer such services to vehicle owners.
The vehicle testing unit, which is a partnership between the ISTC and the DVLA, according to Mr Donkor, would provide a 24-hour service of testing and licensing.
On the recent promise by President John Dramani Mahama to give the company 50 buses to enhance its operations, Mr Donkor said the company had already taken delivery of 11 of the vehicles.
He said the buses, which would improve the operations of the company, had been fixed with six CCTV cameras, Wi-Fi services, a coffee maker and a fridge for the comfort of its passengers.
For the safety of patrons of the services of Intercity STC, he said, it had transformed its drivers’ transit quarters into a clinic where all drivers were taken through medical examination before they took off on their daily routes.
Support
After touring the facility, Mr Kwetey said he was impressed with the efforts made to turn around the fortunes of the company.
He said the transformation of the company, which had a track record for safety in the transport sector of Ghana, required a change of attitude and mindset and advised the workers to be committed to their work.
He pledged the government’s support to restore Intercity STC to its past glory and make it the preferred transport agency in the country.
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