In an effort to modernize operations and enhance Ghana’s transportation system, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia on Wednesday, November 27, unveiled the first 100 electric buses (EVs) for the Metro Mass Transit Limited (MMT).
It will lower the nation’s public transportation costs, improve accessibility, and help lower carbon footprints worldwide.
Akufo-Addo/Bawumia’s goal to modernize, innovate, and revolutionize the nation’s public transportation system is reflected in the program.
In order to ensure healthier and more efficient transportation, the program’s pilot phase has established the standard for incorporating green technology into Ghana’s public transportation system.
Vice President Bawumia stated the introduction of EVs would reduce the cost of public transportation by 40 to 50 percent as he inaugurated the 100 buses in the Accra suburb of Adentan.
He claimed that the intervention will also result in a 50% reduction in the MMT’s operating and maintenance expenses.
“I’m so elated to stand before you to commission the first batch of electric buses for Metro Mass Transit Limited to augment its fleet, promote its operations and usher in a new era of innovation in the delivery of public transport services,” he said.
“As the Minister said, the move towards electric vehicles is not only aimed at the MMT, but the whole public transport sector.”
“They said it was an election promise that will not be fulfilled. And unfortunately, this is the mindset of impossibility. And it was at play in this situation, as it has been at play for the last eight years that we have been in government.”
In order to provide a loan facility for members of the Ghana Public Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and other organized transport associations to purchase electric buses, the NPP Flagbearer stated that the government’s overarching goal was to completely overhaul the public transportation industry.
In order to take advantage of government interference, he so urged everyone running a transportation company to become a member of an organized transport union.
He was unfazed and adamant about seeing through Ghana’s adoption of electric vehicles for public transportation, even in the face of “naysayers” who claimed that the government’s creative plans were impossible.
“I had no doubt in my mind that this was possible. If other countries can deploy electric buses for public transportation, why not Ghana?…The transport sector, as you all know, is a major contributing factor to the growth of our economy, and most importantly a necessary pre-condition for the guaranteed success of education, jobs, markets, and health care among others,” he said.
EVs would transform the transportation industry and help achieve net zero carbon emissions worldwide.
According to Vice President Bawumia, the government would partner with Technical and Vocational Educational Training (TVET) institutes to train technical personnel who would act as the EVs’ manpower workforce.
The EV program, according to Transport Minister Mr. Kwaku Ofori Asiama, is a component of the government’s larger plan to overhaul the public transportation system as a whole.
The 100 buses were only used as a test run to find operational issues and fix them before being made available across the country.
Metro Mass Transit Ltd.’s managing director, Mr. Albert Adu Boahen, thanked the government for providing the buses that allowed the company to improve its operations.
He praised the government for introducing the Electric Policy Framework in 2023 to direct Ghana’s EV adoption.
According to Mr. Adu Boahen, the MMT will guarantee reasonable transportation costs, enhance the passenger experience, and cut its fuel expenses by 55%.
During the experimental phase, the company also installed charging stations along the EV routes from Adentan to Accra and Ashiaman to Accra.
Technical personnel have also received training on how to properly maintain the vehicles and ensure their sustainability.
Source: newsthemegh.com