The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) has cautioned that transport fares could be revised if fuel prices rise, urging commuters to prepare for possible adjustments in lorry charges.
Speaking on Channel One Newsroom monitored by NR News on Sunday, March 15, the union’s Industrial Relations Officer, Abass Imoro, said the union had previously intervened to prevent drivers from unilaterally increasing fares despite mounting operational costs.
According to him, some transport operators had attempted to adjust fares on their own in response to rising expenses, but the union stepped in to ensure that the officially approved charges were maintained.
“We are working for profit and for some time now most of our people even came up by increasing fares on their own. GPRTU took it upon ourselves to stop it and the prices were sent back to the normal levels,” he said.
Mr Imoro explained that transport operators had anticipated some relief following the recent depreciation of the US dollar, particularly in the cost of key inputs such as lubricants, but those prices have largely remained unchanged.
He noted that the continued high cost of operational inputs is putting financial pressure on drivers, increasing the likelihood of a fare review should fuel prices rise.
“These are all indications that immediately fuel prices change upwards, the possibility of changing lorry fares is also there,” he said.
Despite the warning, Mr Imoro assured commuters that the union would not rush into adjusting transport fares, stressing that any decision would be taken only after careful monitoring of developments in the fuel market.
“The only difference will be that we will not rush for a change in lorry fares, but when the fuel prices go up, automatically everybody should expect a change in the lorry fares,” he added.
In a related development, the Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), Duncan Amoah, has warned that petrol and diesel prices in Ghana could rise to between GH¢13 and GH¢15 per litre due to supply disruptions linked to escalating tensions in the Middle East.
