According to checks conducted by the Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday, although some transport operators raised rates by roughly 20%, others have yet to do so because they are awaiting authorization from their union officials.
The problem has arisen as a result of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) announcing that operators would be allowed to evaluate transportation rates upwards.
In separate interviews with the Ghanaian Times at Circle, several transport providers and customers claimed a 20% increase in fees or no increase.
Mr. William Abaka, Vice Chairman, GPRTU Biakoye Highways, who verified the situation at the Neoplan Station, said the modification was essential owing to increased gasoline costs.
He noted that rising petroleum product costs had been hammering the operators for quite some time.
Mr. Abaka stated that the union now charges GH22 as a fare to Asamankese, up from GH19 before, and GH35 to Kade, up from GH29 previously.
He added that the GH10 ticket to Tema has increased to GH12, Dowenya has increased from GH12 to GH14, and Prampram has increased from GH14 to GH16.
Mr. Isaac Esilfi, a station driver, bemoaned the frequent rise in gasoline costs, saying it was putting a strain on their budget.
He stated that they had no choice but to raise rates to keep up with rising fuel expenses.
Another passenger, Jemima Afutu, stated that the transport companies had been sympathetic, but that the government needed to come to Ghanaians' help as soon as possible because the system's suffering was growing.
She said that as a plastics dealer, she had to pay a lot of money for transportation, which had an impact on her income.
Another passenger, Ana, reported that the ticket from Adenta to Circle had gone from GH5 to GH6.50, while the fare from Teiman to Abokobi had jumped from GH1.70p to GH2.50p.
When the conductor requested the money on her way to work, she said she was taken aback.
Ms. Ana stated that she initially resisted but eventually gave up since she needed to admit something. Godwin Kedzlo, a station passenger, remarked that he had no reason to complain because he was aware of the present status of the economy and the challenges that everyone was experiencing.
He stated that he would simply pay to prevent any misunderstandings since he was confident that if gasoline costs were modest, transportation companies would not have altered tariffs.
Meanwhile, the Tiger and Protea Stations at Circle reported they had not initiated the alterations because their union representatives had not given their clearance.
The Tiger station's chairman, KwabenaDarko, confirmed that some other unions had started making the modifications, but claimed the station's management was still debating the matter.