The public transport sector needs proper regulation

In his treaties, the Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes, an English Philosopher, underscored the need for government.

He set the tone by rightly exposing three natural instincts of man that makes government inevitable in every society. The philosopher observed that man is by nature, competitive, desirous of his own glory and full of distrust.

According to Thomas Hobbes, these intrinsic characteristics of man has led to intensed competition for resources that are insufficient. If this competition is not regulated, society would be thrown into a state of anarchy, where life would become cruel, brutish, solitary and lonely. In view of this, he suggested that the strongest of all men must therefore emerge to prevent this situation.

The manner in which the country's public transport sector operates has virtually reduced the lives of the poor Ghanaian masses to that state of brutality, cruelty, loneliness and solitude that Thomas Hobbes envisaged. This stems from the fact that the sector is not properly regulated by the constitutionally mandated Leviathan, that is, the Ministry of Transport and other government agencies under it.

The public transport sector, supposedly has many unions, whose members are not known by the citizens. Due to this, the drivers are able to subject their customers, the poor masses, to unfair treatment with impunity.

The poor masses who patronise these buses are seen stranded on daily basis, especially in the evenings when they close from work. It is heart aching to recount how passengers are exploited by the drivers all in the name of maximizing profit.

After irrationally increasing the transport fares to exacerbate the sufferings of the poor Ghanaian workers, who are currently battling high inflation, these drivers are still not satisfied. So, they have devised a profiteering strategy that compels the poor masses to spend more than the usual fare for a trip.

With this tact, a driver heading to Kasoa- Barrier from Accra between 4:30 pm and 6:30 pm would first end the trip at Odorkor.This makes the passengers heading to Barrier to pay Three cedis more than their usual fare. The Kasoa bound passengers also spend more than their normal fare.

The poor regulation of the sector is also the reason why the drivers recently increased transport fares far above the recommended charges. They have done their worst by refusing to reduce the fares despite the recent reduction in fuel prices. Unfortunately, however, nobody is calling them to order.

The least is said about the gross indiscipline that is identified with these drivers. Majority of them have declared their busess their personal offices where nobody can question their actions. Consequently, they run these "offices" in a manner that pleases them, the reult of which is gross abuse of passengers' rights with impunity.

For the fact that fuel and transport fares have been identified as the main determinants of prices of all other goods and services in the country, the government ought to take keen interest in how the public transport sector operates.

This calls for proper regulation of the sector. In view of this, efficient laws should be passed to guide the operation of the public transport system in the country.

By Bala Ali
The author is a social commentator.