The metro mass transportation scheme in Ghana: Issues, challenges and the way forward

Abstract

For many authorities in Ghana's metropolitan areas, public transport provision is increasingly becoming problematic as daily trips of city dwellers tend to cover numerous suburbs or even satellite settlements, thereby increasing travel costs in terms of time, money and comfort. Rather than reducing travel times, enhancing economic activities and productivity of commuters as well as ensuring the safety and comfort of city dwellers, the public transport systems in developing cities such as Accra, Kumasi and Tamale in Ghana have become uncomfortable, risky and generally inconvenient. This paper focuses on the activities of the Metro Mass Transit Limited in Ghana since its inception in 2003. The paper first reviews the various processes that led to the introduction of yet another version of the defunct Omnibus Services Authority (OSA) Transport Company. This is followed by an outline of major challenges likely to confront the Company's operations. Employing selected features of a management model by Cummings and Worley (1997), the paper then proposes possible strategies to address the challenges. For purposes of clarity some references are made to the defunct OSA Transport Company as well as other private operators such as the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Kingdom Transport and the State Transport Company (STC). The paper ends with suggestions for the training and education of operators of the MMTL designed to enhance their capacities to effectively manage the buses.