The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) is advocating for a 30 percent increment in transport fares in a bid to address the escalating operational expenses faced by its members due to hikes in fuel prices.

The Deputy Public Relations Officer, Samuel Amoah, highlighted the union’s stance while contributing to the topic, “The Rising Cost of Fuel: Why you must brace for more hikes” on JoyNews’ PM Express.

According to Mr Amoah, discussions with the Transport Ministry commenced last Wednesday and are scheduled to resume this week.

He further recalled GPRTU’s earlier attempt in January to implement a 20 percent fare hike, which was met with objections from the Ministry of Transport, citing procedural discrepancies.

During the earlier deliberations, GPRTU justified the proposed increase by citing various cost factors including spare parts, lubricants, DVLA, and insurance taxes.

“The Ministry therefore invited us for a conversation, an invitation we accepted and presented all our reasons for the 20 percent increment. Even at that time, the fuel price wasn’t as it is now. The 20 percent we came up with earlier, we considered the cost of spare parts, lubricants, and DVLA and Insurance taxes. Those were the major components that we focused on to come up with the 20 percent increment,” he said on Tuesday.

However, Mr Amoah underscored that the recent surge in fuel prices has compelled a reconsideration of their initial proposal.

It is therefore due to this adverse economic climate that GPRTU has revised its stance, now advocating for a 30 percent fare increase.

Mr Amoah emphasised the necessity of this adjustment to alleviate the financial burden on drivers and ensure the sustainability of their operations.

He noted that the Union remains optimistic that the Ministry will acknowledge the pressing need for fare adjustments to safeguard the livelihoods of transport operators and enable them to continue their essential services to the nation.

“Our expectation on Wednesday is that, surely the Transport Ministry will agree with us so that we can increase the fares for our drivers to have peace of mind to continue serving the nation.”

Meanwhile, some drivers across the country have started implementing new charges.