GPRTU targets 30% to 40% increase in transport fares after fuel price hikes

The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) is targeting a 30 percent to 40 percent increase in transport fares following the recent rise in prices of petroleum products.

The union has said negotiations for the upward adjustment will begin tomorrow.

In an interview with Citi News, the General Secretary of GPRTU, Godfred Abulbire, said such rises as well as other factors have compelled this proposal.

“By Tuesday, we are going to begin our negotiations. We are going to begin our negotiations with the forecast or reports that we have gotten and from there, we will know by what margin [we will increase transport fares].”

“But if you look at it fairly, the fares should not be increased by less than 30 percent to 40 percent. Anything less than that will have a serious effect on the transport sector,” Mr. Abulbire said.

Petrol has started selling at around GH¢13.10 while diesel is selling at GH¢15.99 at some fuel pumps.

Some analysts expect further increases as demand for gas and fuel heading to the winter period increases.

The Executive Director of the Institute for Energy Security, Nana Amoasi VII, for example, expects petrol prices to get as high as GH¢17 per litre.

The last transport fare increases were in May 2020

Transport fares went up by 20 percent in May where fares were increased by 20 percent.

As of May 9, 2022, when the new fares took effect, petrol and diesel were selling at a national average of GH¢9.41 and GH¢11.12, respectively.