Motor Coach Operators have issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Highways to engage with the Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, to develop a roadmap for improving road conditions across their operational corridors.
They said if the committee fails to meet their demands, they would be forced to impose an additional maintenance levy on transportation fares.
Ghana’s Motor Coach Operators encounter numerous difficulties due to the country’s road infrastructure and related regulatory issues. These challenges affect the efficiency and safety of transportation services, with far-reaching consequences for the economy and public well-being.
Motor Coach Operators and their drivers want many of the roads that are deplorable repaired to safeguard their operations. The operators stated that they are presently operating 5,000 luxurious coaches on various routes nationwide, but a significant portion of their capital is being diverted to maintenance and repairs due to the poor condition of the roads.
The coach operators said they wish to bring to the attention of the Road and Highways Minister on some deteriorated nature of some ten roads bringing escalating cost of maintenance.
They said the Amansaman Pokua road construction is taking a major toll on their operation since most of the coaches plying the southern routes of Ghana use that stretch and some portions of the road are really in a bad shape.
Speaking to some drivers, they indicated that they are aware the road is still under construction, but they would want the contractor to create other channels to use.
They said travelling from Accra to Kumasi will take four hours, but because of the bad nature of the Amasaman stretch, they spend two hours in traffic, which is not healthy.
Some passengers said they are worried about the bad nature of roads, one of them who shared his ordeal narrated that his wife missed her flight for spending three hours in traffic just between the Amasaman-Pokuase stretche where under normal circumstances the journey should take thirty minutes.
Operators of the VIP and OA transport said the bad roads are negatively affecting their routes like Kasoa-Winneba highway, Tarkoradi to Agona Nkwanta, Prestea to Buguso, Bodea to Asankragua, Tepa to Goaso, Tamale to Bolga and immediate attention must be paid to those roads.
Speaking as the convener for the transport operators, the manager in charge of operations at the VIP Transport Adakabre Frimpong Manso said they want authorities to rise to the occasion to get those roads fixed.
The Amasaman-Pokuase road construction has taken too long and is a major setback in our operation, he said.
He stated VIP transport took a delivery of sixty-five new coaches on January 2025 within the end of the first quarter they are broken down.
He said they have issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Parliamentary Select Committee on highways to engage with the Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, to develop a roadmap for improving road conditions across their operational corridors to avoid the imposition of an additional maintenance levy on transportation fares.
