Duncan Amoah, Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), has justified transport operators’ decision to raise public transport rates by 20%, stating that the change is reasonable in light of growing operating expenses.
His remarks come after the Commercial Transport Operators of Ghana and the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) announced that starting on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, transport fares would rise statewide.
The transport operators claimed that the ongoing increase in gasoline prices and the rising cost of auto replacement parts, which continue to put strain on their operations, made the fare change necessary.
In an interview with Samuel Ackom on Citi News Digest on Saturday, May 30, Mr. Amoah stated that despite growing operational difficulties, transport companies had been patient with commuters.
“Let me start off by saying that the transport operators have been quite magnanimous with all of us. At this time when already fuel prices are set to go up again on Monday, one could imagine that their operations could become unsustainable if they continue to charge the very old fares,” he stated.
He says that since gasoline prices have returned to their original levels, transport providers should be permitted to modify their tariffs, as they had previously done when they dropped.
Mr Amoah added that it is unrealistic to expect GPRTU members to stick with the previous rates because a number of transport providers, especially long-distance bus services, have already changed their fares.
“Granted that it is those who decided to go down on fares when fuel was 15. Now that it’s gone back up to 15 again, it could only be fair that we grant them that space to also adjust back to the old levels they were,” he reiterated.
“It would become quite a disservice to the GPRTU and other transport operators if we insist at this point that they should stick with the old fares. So I find that the adjustment is reasonable, except that we would need to again ask them the basis for the 20%,” he said.
The COPEC Executive Secretary said he would have preferred a 15% adjustment rather than a 20% rise, even if he supported the fare hike. He did concede, though, that transport companies might have taken into account additional growing expenses, such as insurance and replacement parts.
He added that a commuter who currently pays GH¢100 for a journey may anticipate paying roughly GH¢120 under the new prices, but a GH¢10 fare might rise to almost GH¢12.
Additionally, Mr. Amoah reiterated requests for a transparent and scientific method of setting transportation costs in Ghana.
He suggested using a method to determine a standard cost per passenger per kilometre that accounts for both fixed and variable operational costs.
He says that such a mechanism would end frequent disagreements over fare adjustments and provide commuters and transport providers clarity.
“But I think that we should be making meaningful progress towards arriving at a cost per head per kilometre, so that there is no confusion and no chaos,” he stated.
He urged stakeholders to embrace a more data-driven approach to transit pricing, characterising the existing fare calculation mechanism as essentially arbitrary.
Source: newsthemegh.com