Form Monday September 16, 2019, commuters in Ghana will be paying 10 per cent more on transport fares as the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) slaps additional rates to their fares.
This increase covers intra-city travel, intercity travel and taxi cabs according to a statement from the GPRTU and the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council.
The statement said the increase is “to accommodate predominantly an increase in fuel prices.”
The increases were triggered by the Ken Ofori-Atta-led Ministry of Finance’s prescription during the mid-year budget review that slapped higher taxes on prices of petroleum products
The government consequently increased taxes in the petroleum price build-up such as the controversial Road Fund Levy (RFL), the Energy Debt Recovery Levy (EDRL) and the Price Stabilization and Recovery Levy (PSRL).
Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) took the cue and increased ex-pump prices from Sunday, September 1, 2019, following the National Petroleum Authority’s (NPA)’s order for them to capture this tax increases.
This has already put pressure on petroleum prices for transport owners as they have to pay as much as GHC .50 per litre on diesel and petroleum. Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is also skyrocketing out of the reach of average consumers.
Transport fares were last increased by the GPRTU in April 2017 by 15 per cent. It is unclear what quantum of increment the GPRTU is considering, but insiders say it may go as high as a 20 per cent increase.