Kwahu commercial drivers complain about losses due to traffic congestion
While most commercial operators yield high financial returns on their activities during the Kwahu Easter celebrations, some commerical drivers plying the major towns such as Mpraeso, Obemeng, Obo among others in the Kwahu enclave seem to have lost out this year.
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The drivers say they have lost huge sums of money during this festive period because of the heavy vehicular traffic in the towns.
In an interview with Daily Graphic, some drivers said it had been a disappointing year for them as they were hoping to cash in during this festive season where a lot of celebrants were ready to go out and spend some cash.
According to them, even though they expected traffic jam within this period, this year’s situation had taken them by surprise because it is rather a heavy side.
Prince Appiah, a commercial driver who plies between Nkawkaw and Mpraeso said he had been spending more than usual on fuel alone because he was always stuck in traffic for many hours.
“Before Kwahu Easter, I used to spend GHC150 of fuel the whole day but now I have to be topping up with at least GHC50.00 everyday, because of the traffic. I am unable to make my normal daily trips”, a frustrated Mr Appiah stated.
Another driver, Muniru Abubakar, who commutes from Mpraeso lorry park to Abetifi lorry station indicated that even though there were a lot of people in town, the cars could not pick them as fast as they should because they are all always stuck in traffic for close five to six hours.
“Traveling from Nkawkaw to Mpraeso lorry station shouldn’t take even 45 minutes, but because of the traffic especially in the early hours of the mornings and in the evenings, we spend too much time on the road.
"So you realise that a lot of people queue at the station waiting and it is not as if there are no cars, but because all the cars are not able to get back on time to pick them up,” he said.
David Adom, also a commercial driver who commutes on the Obomeng road to other towns in Kwahu said that the traffic situation has been terrible, making them lose out heavily.
"We have lost a lot of money this time around. This is mostly due to the traffic situation in the catchment areas such as Mpraeso, Obomeng, Oboo, Abetifi and Atibie especially from the main Nkawkaw road.
"Last Friday, I was stuck in traffic for close to five hours and you can imagine how much fuel I wasted doing no work. At the end of the day, you buy fuel, waste it but don't do any work. Usually, I make about 25 trips a day but it has reduced to 10 since the Easter celebrations", he lamented.
Meanwhile, all the drivers interviewed didn't seem to have a clue or any suggestions on how the situation could be controlled.
All they want was for the festivities to come to an end so they resume their normal business to make the needed income to feed themselves and their dependents.
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