The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has announced plans to prosecute commercial drivers who charge passengers transport fares above the officially approved rates following the implementation of an eight per cent increase in fares.
The Assembly has also warned that vehicle owners whose drivers are found culpable could be summoned as part of measures to enforce compliance and discourage arbitrary fare increases across the Kumasi metropolis.
The warning was issued by the Head of the Transport Department at the KMA, Randy Wilson, during a quarterly engagement between the Assembly’s management and leadership of 24 transport unions operating in the Ashanti Region.
Mr Wilson said the Assembly was moving beyond its previous approach of impounding vehicles and imposing fines, explaining that offenders would now face prosecution in accordance with the law.
“This time the Assembly has decided that we’re going to prosecute the driver, and then we might even bring in the vehicle owner,” he stated.
He further disclosed that the names of drivers and operators who flout the approved fares could be made public to serve as a deterrent to other commercial transport operators.
“Not only are we prosecuting, but we are also going to publish whoever flouts the rule… so that it serves as a deterrent to all transport operators,” he warned.
Illegal Fare Adjustments
The planned enforcement follows reports that some commercial drivers had increased their fares before the official eight per cent adjustment was announced.
According to Mr Wilson, such practices would not be tolerated, stressing that the approved eight per cent increase must be calculated from the legitimate fares that existed before the latest adjustment.
He therefore urged transport union leaders to ensure that their members did not add the eight per cent increment to fares that had already been arbitrarily increased.
He explained that drivers were expected to return to the officially recognised base fares and apply the approved increase accordingly.
The KMA, he said, had prepared standard fare charts covering various routes within the metropolis to guide both drivers and passengers.
24 Unions Accept Increase
Meanwhile, leadership of the 24 transport unions in the Ashanti Region has accepted the eight per cent fare increment and pledged to work with the KMA to ensure its effective implementation.
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Progressive Transport Owners’ Association (PROTOA) and leader of the 24 transport unions, Joseph Mensah, said the unions were committed to ensuring that their members complied with the approved rates.
Speaking to Kumasi FM’s Elisha Adarkwah, Mr Mensah said union leaders would undertake the necessary fare calculations from their respective administrative offices.
He explained that approved rate sheets would subsequently be issued to drivers to ensure that they charged passengers the correct fares.
“All drivers and the leadership of the transport operators have accepted the eight per cent and will go by it to help stop fights that ensue between us and our passengers,” he said.
He urged passengers who encounter drivers charging fares above the approved rates to report them to the appropriate authorities.
According to him, union executive committees would not shield drivers who deliberately violate the approved fares, but would instead hand such offenders over to law enforcement authorities.
‘Floating Drivers’ Challenge
Despite the commitment from the recognised transport unions, the operators identified the activities of so-called “floating drivers” as a major challenge to effective fare enforcement.
Floating drivers are commercial vehicle operators who do not belong to recognised transport unions and often undertake unscheduled trips across different parts of the metropolis.
Mr Mensah said the activities of such drivers could make it difficult for authorities and passengers to determine whether they were operating under an approved transport arrangement.
He therefore appealed to the government and relevant authorities to introduce a standardised vehicle identification system.
He proposed the use of mandatory stickers or other identifiable markings on commercial vehicles to distinguish vehicles belonging to recognised transport unions from those operating outside the established system.
Such a system, he argued, would make it easier for the police, transport authorities and passengers to identify operators who violate approved fares and other regulations.
Enforcement Teams
For his part, Mr Wilson disclosed that the KMA had already compiled standard fare rate charts for routes within the metropolis.
He said enforcement monitoring teams would be deployed to bus terminals, lorry parks and loading points across Kumasi to monitor compliance with the approved fares.
The teams are expected to engage drivers, check fare charges and ensure that the approved rates are being implemented.
The KMA Transport Department is also expected to work closely with transport union leaders to identify drivers who disregard the approved rates.
The Assembly believes that the combination of public education, monitoring, prosecution and sanctions will help bring greater discipline to the commercial transport sector.
The latest directive is also expected to reduce frequent disagreements between drivers and passengers, particularly over fare increases, which have often resulted in confrontations at various transport terminals.
The KMA has consequently urged both drivers and passengers to familiarise themselves with the approved fares and report breaches through the appropriate channels.
The Assembly further cautioned drivers against taking advantage of the fare adjustment to impose additional charges on passengers, insisting that the eight per cent increase represents the officially approved adjustment and should not be used as a basis for arbitrary increases.
