The Public Relations Officer of the True Drivers Union, Yaw Barima, has said that commercial drivers will soon increase fares by 20% if the Government does not take action against the increment in fuel prices.
In an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show, he lamented that the observance of social distancing in their vehicles coupled with the increment of fuel prices has affected their sales. This has thus necessitated the decision to increase fares.
“We have decided to increase lorry fares. We want the Government to reduce petroleum prices. When we increase our prices, the prices of a lot of things will go up. We are warning the Government before we do that”, he said.
He noted that, initially, the Union intended to increase the transport fares by more than 30%. However, they have decided not to burden Ghanaians and as such, they have reduced the increment to 20%.
When quizzed on the specific date for the increment in transport fares, he responded that there is no set time. “The increment can be today, tomorrow or next week. We just want to give the Government enough time to do something about the fuel price increase”, he added.
Amid the Coronavirus outbreak in the country, the President directed that commercial vehicles reduce the number of passengers they take on board in adherence to the social distancing protocols. Some drivers have complained that the compliance to this directive has affected the sales they make.
Additionally, on 1st June 2020, it was reported that consumers of petroleum products should be prepared to pay more for fuel at the pumps following an increment in the BOST margin by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) from 3 pesewas to 6 pesewas. This news has also not been favourably accepted by the True Drivers Union.
By: Alberta Dorcas N D Armah