‘Let’s build strong public transportation system’
The Deputy Minister of Transport, Mr Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover, has asked public transport institutions to uphold good work culture built on integrity to promote a strong transport sector in the country.
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He said the culture of maintenance, avoidance of pilfering, management stock-taking and ensuring the safety of buses on the road should be non-negotiable for transport institutions.
Mr Titus-Glover was speaking during a familiarisation tour of three transport institutions in Accra yesterday.
The deputy minister, accompanied by some senior officials of the ministry, visited the Intercity STC Coaches Limited (ISCL), the Government Technical Training Centre (GTTC) and the Metro Mass Transit (MMT) Ltd.
Public transport service
At the three institutions, Mr Titus-Glover said the private transport sector was doing well, compared to the public sector, which was supposed to be safer and more convenient and affordable to the public.
“We must do our best as a country to bring a good image to public transport service for a robust economy. Let’s hold what we have, so that the best will be seen in us,” he said.
Mr Titus-Glover said noted that attitudes such as pilfering from public transport institutions had cost the public transport service so much and it was about time workers ended the unfortunate run.
He noted that transport training centres, in particular the GTTC, had, over the years, provided automobile services for many companies but was quick to add that more needed to be done.
“Tutors have to be equipped with the needed skills to take the students through the changing trends in technology and innovations,” he added.
Metro Mass Transit
Mr Titus-Glover pointed out that the MMT needed to put in place strategies to make its services more accessible and relevant to the public, adding that “the company needs to speed up with its strategic process”.
Making reference to the 2014 audited report of the company, he directed the company to ensure that the money that was allocated for the purchase of spare parts was retrieved from the Chinese company that was supposed to deliver the spare parts, noting that that amount could be used to procure additional buses for the company.
Insufficient revenue
In response, the acting Managing Director of the MMT, Mr Aaron Goza, said there was inadequate revenue to sustain the company due to factors such as the high cost of fuel and import duties on spare parts.
“Since 2014, the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) has been increasing fares but public transport companies maintain fares,” he said.
He lamented that most of the company’s buses were over 15 years.
He appealed to the government to assist the MMT to procure new buses to meet its objectives in the years ahead.
For his part, the Managing Director of the Intercity STC Coaches Limited, Mr Nuamah Donkor, called for maximum support from the ministry to ensure that public transport institutions were reliable and accessible to Ghanaians.