Operators of STC & VIP fight over terminal in Kumasi
There was chaos at the Asafo bus terminal in Kumasi Monday morning when operators of VIP bus and Inter-City STC clashed over a loading terminal.
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It took the intervention of police personnel from the Ashanti SWAT team to bring sanity to the densely populated area as the two protagonists held unto their entrenched positions.
Traffic came to a stand-still on the tiny stretch of the road as many shops remained closed.
Operators of the Inter-City STC wrote to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) on September 6, 2017, to secure a permit to operate from one of the dormant bus terminals close to the VIP lorry station at Asafo. They subsequently granted permit to operate on September 12, 2017.
The move by STC according to the Head of Operations, Ashanti, Lord Inusah Lansah, was to help the state-owned company to run a parallel station at Adum (which remains their main office) and Asafo.
Indeed, the plan to move to Asafo was in line with the agenda of the new admiration to open as many satellite stations as possible across the country to make the Inter-City STC more accessible to passengers.
But the operators of the VIP said the move to relocate the STC station close to them was to scuttle their businesses and ‘steal their passengers.’
A leading member of the VIP, Kwame Adu Gyamfi, told Graphic Onine, it took them years to build the transport business and would not allow anyone to scuttle it.
‘When we came here, the entire area was swampy and unattractive. It took hard work and dedication to bring the place to this current level. It will be unwise on our part to give portions to our main competitor, he said.
He said there were other minor stations close to VIP which loads to Accra and why should the VIP managers target only STC.
Mr Okumah Nyame said the move by STC should rather be applauded by commuters because the in-coming competition would inure to their benefit.