Kumasi residents welcome arrival of mass transit bus

Thousands of jubilant residents in the Kumasi on Monday lined some principal streets to welcome the arrival of the first batch of 30 buses to start the Metro-Mass Transit System (MMTS)in the Metropolis.

The spontaneous joy that heralded the announcement of the arrival of the buses on Friday evening signified the relief of residents, especially workers and market women, who had to endure several years of cheating by private transport operators.

Singing and dancing, the people massed along the streets to cheer the convoy of buses that was led by a Police escort and officials of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) including Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, the Metropolitan Chief Executive.

Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, Ashanti Region Minister, who welcomed the convoy at the Kejetia Bus Terminal, later joined hundreds of residents to undertake the inaugural trip to Abuakwa, one of the areas that faced severe transportation problems in the Metropolis.

A source close to the Management Committee of MMTS told the GNA in an interview that the buses had been shared fairly among all the major entry routes in the Metropolis.

He said the areas that faced severe transportation problems had been identified and they had been given more of the buses while the ring road had also been catered for.

A jubilant resident said the buses had come as a big relief to commuters, who had fallen prey to unscrupulous "trotro" and taxi drivers, who had capitalised on the transportation problems in the Metropolis to use dubious means to charge unapproved fares.

Mr Boafo, addressing some of the residents at Abuakwa, urged them to patronise the buses and keep them clean always to ensure comfort for themselves and the longer lifespan for the buses.