Upper East Minister engages STC over ticket shortages, bus breakdowns
Upper East Regional Minister Hon. Akamugri Donatus Atanga has engaged management of the State Transport Company (STC) in the region over complaints about ticket shortages, reduced services and frequent breakdowns of buses operating in the region.
The meeting followed complaints from residents about difficulties securing tickets and concerns over the condition and reliability of buses serving the Upper East Region.
The minister said some passengers had to book tickets four to five days in advance to secure seats on buses travelling from Accra to the region.
He also raised concerns about the reliability of buses assigned to the region, citing a complaint from a passenger who claimed that three out of six journeys he made on STC buses ended with the bus breaking down, leaving him to spend the night in the bush.
“The second one is that the buses that are located to Upper East are not healthy,” the minister said.
He said the complaints had created concerns among residents that the northern sector was not being adequately served by the company.
“Either they are undermining the north, or the company doesn’t treat us well. They put only rotten buses for our region,” he said.
The minister said although he had personally experienced occasional STC breakdowns and situations where buses were full, he had not been aware that passengers were facing such difficulties on a regular basis.
He said the engagement was to understand the challenges facing STC in the region and find ways to improve services.
“You are providing the services for my people. So I have to come meet you and understand what the situation is,” he said.
Responding to the concerns, STC management attributed the difficulty in securing tickets partly to the introduction of online booking.
Management explained that passengers could now book tickets remotely, meaning seats could be sold online before people arrived at the Bolgatanga station.
“Somebody might be sitting home comfortably and go online and book a ticket,” management said.
It explained that previously, passengers could walk into the station and obtain tickets, but online booking had changed the system and made seats unavailable to people who arrived at the station without having booked online.
Management also disclosed that the number of buses available to the Upper East depot had reduced, forcing the company to cut back on some of its services.
It said the station previously operated two daily services to Accra, but now operates only one because of the reduced availability of buses.
“Initially, we do two services to Accra every day. But now, because of the availability of the bus, we do only one service,” management said.
It said services from the Upper East to destinations including Accra, Tema, Kumasi, Sunyani and Takoradi had been affected by the shortage of buses.
Management said the reduced fleet had made it difficult for the company to maintain the level of services previously provided to passengers in the region.
On the frequent breakdowns, STC management acknowledged that the condition of some buses was a challenge.
It attributed the breakdowns partly to the condition of the buses, the long distance to the Upper East Region and road conditions along the route.
“And because the bus is weak, and our road, too, is also not conducive for motorists and all this, the breakdown is too much,” management said.
Management also acknowledged the passenger’s account of experiencing three breakdowns during six journeys, saying such incidents could result in passengers spending several hours waiting for repairs.
It explained that the time required to respond to a breakdown depended on where the incident occurred.
According to management, when a bus breaks down around Tamale or farther south, engineers and recovery support have to travel from Bolgatanga to the location.
It said the process could take more than six or seven hours, as engineers would first have to reach the vehicle, carry out repairs and allow it to continue its journey.
“At times, we spend a lot of hours before we recover them,” management said.
The company said its limited fleet also made it difficult to immediately provide replacement buses for passengers when breakdowns occurred.
The Regional Minister said he would table the concerns before the Minister of Transport when he travels to Accra to pursue other development plans for the region.
He said he would use the opportunity to raise the challenges affecting STC services in the Upper East and seek attention to the concerns raised by residents.
Source: Northwebonline.com
