Let’s take a second look at BRT System – Transport Minister

Mr. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, the Minister for Transport, says a second look should be taken at the implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.

This was necessary as the Aayalolo Bus System piloted on the Amasaman to Tudu road corridor in Accra had failed to bring the expected improvement in capacity and reliability.

He was speaking at the transport sector performance review conference in Koforidua.

The three-day meeting was held under the theme “Sustainability of the transport sector – exploring innovative solutions@.

It provided the platform for the key actors in the sector to assess their performance, thoroughly examined the challenges and discussed the way forward.

Mr Asiamah said Ghana like many other countries in Africa was struggling with ineffective and inefficient mode of transport, something that needed to change.

He expressed concern about the high road traffic fatalities and said this had not been helpful to the government’s effort at raising life expectancy.

Available statistics show that about six persons die daily through road crashes.

The Minister said most of the fatalities involved motorcycles. Figures showed that motorcycle fatalities, rose from 2.7 per cent in 2001, to 21 per cent in 2016.

He reminded everybody that it was illegal to use motorcycles to for commercial purposes – ferry passengers, and invited all to help find a solution to the “Okada” menace.

Mr. Eric Kwakye Darfour, the Eastern Regional Minister, called for more innovative ways to tackle the challenges facing the transport sector.