Motor Tricycles Take Over Commercial Transports In Kumasi

The successes of the commercial motor cycles popularly known as "pragia, in Ghana has angered some taxi drivers who think that they are taking away their business.

The communities that Motor tricycles appears to have taken over the work of taxis and ‘trotro’ are Aboabo, Adukrom Buoban Race Course, Doctor Mensah, Asawase, Sepe-Timpon and others all in the Asokore Mampong Municipality of the Ashanti region.

This did not use to be the trend until last two years when their operations gained some acceptance in the community. The tricycles have been given several names including ‘Pragia’ a name in the most watched Akan translated Indian telenovela ‘Kumkum Bhagya’.

Others call it ‘Mahama Camboo’ because a government programme under the John Dramani Mahama administration introduced the tricycles as loans.

OTECNEWS reporter Eshun Peninnahthinks that the drop in patronage of taxi cabs, was due to the emergence of the services of Motor tricycles.

Some of the angry drivers who spoke to our reporter fumed, they charge relatively lower fares, thereby having an edge over conventional taxis.

“They don’t pay income tax, they don’t pay for the insurance, most don’t have drivers’ license, they also don’t possess KMA embossment licenses and stickers as commercial vehicles do,’’ one of the drivers lamented.

Some of the Taxi Drivers are not enthused about this trend because they complain the tricycle taxis have taken away their passengers.

A driver complained to our Miss Eshunthat, “a passenger sitting in my taxi can alight and join the tricycle because the rider can afford to move with just two passengers. When he buys one gallon of petrol, he can ride the whole day. Since morning some of us have not made a single trip’’.

They can also drive past traffic jams because they are small. They don’t also pay Insurance and other levies we pay.

Residents of the area who are predominantly Northerners however contend the tricycles are faster and more convenient to the conventional forms of commercial passenger transportation.

A man who just alighted with a load from the tricycle stated, “I have used it for three months now. It’s just four passengers like the taxis. But it’s faster and better.

Another woman also admitted, “I think it is safer and faster. The taxis and ‘trotros’ make too many stopovers for passengers. But these tricycles don’t do that and they will also stop anywhere you want to alight because they are small.”