Having realised that an efficient and effective transport system is the panacea for any meaningful development, the developed world have put in place advanced rail, road and air transport networks.
In our part of the world, however, public transport, as managed by metropolitan assemblies, is non-existent.
So, in effect, the space has been left for private initiatives, especially the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), the Progressive Transport Owners Association (PROTOA) and the Co-operative Drivers Union, to fill with the operation of buses and taxis across the country.
These private initiatives are very huge investments whose influence on the economy is quite big, which we believe has informed the development of a relationship with governments over the years.
This relationship with transport organisations has been developed to ensure that they do not bring the economy to its knees should the organisations decide to withdraw their services.
The Ghana Road Transport Co-ordinating Council (GRTCC), the umbrella body of all transport organisations, has always, in consultation with the government, tried to fix transport fares anytime there is an upward review in the prices of petroleum products.
But in an era of cost-recovery when the prices of petroleum products are adjusted based on the value of the cedi to the dollar and the price of crude oil on the international market, the Daily Graphic wonders whether it is fair to be fixing prices for transport owners and drivers now.
It is true that the prices of fuel, a major ingredient in their operations, are fixed by the government, which means the government is concerned about the fares charged by drivers, so that they do not overburden the travelling public, traders and commuters.
We, however, lose sight of the fact that the vehicle owners and drivers need other inputs, such as spare parts, tyres and lubricants, to run their operations.
Unfortunately, the prices of these items are determined by market forces.
So the question is: Is it fair to the driver and the commercial vehicle owner to be asked by the GRTCC not to increase fares?
Already, some drivers are complaining about that directive, while others have arbitrarily increased fares, which action predictably happens every time there is an increase in petroleum prices, resulting in heated arguments and sometimes fisticuffs between passengers and drivers and/or their mates.
The Daily Graphic believes the government must bring all stakeholders together to dispassionately chart a way forward in this unending saga of fuel price increases that always result in difficulties for both passengers and vehicle owners and their drivers.
