Titus Glover, who made this known in an interview with Citi News, said the buses will be provided early next year.

[contextly_sidebar id=”jAykeD6ksXVlXAPU0uv0NNRjtViJhGIi”]“In the 2018 budget…the Ministry of Finance is going to support us to have 50 new buses, which the contract has been awarded, and the contractors have accepted the content of the contract, the letter of credit is yet to be fulfilled by the Ministry of Finance. If that is done, I can assure that by next year, hopefully by January or February, we should be seeing 50 buses”he said.

He entreated the management of Metro Mass Transit Company Limited, to ensure that the buses are maintained for them to last long enough.

“…But let me say with these new buses that have come, it behooves on the management, the board and the workers of Metro Mass, to take good care of the buses because these buses are going to work to pay for itself, the culture of the Metro Mass has to change,” he said.

The Metro Mass Transit Limited is a public transportation company set up in 2001, to provide reliable and affordable means of transport for commuters within villages, towns, and cities as well as provide intercity movement.

Gov’t to purchase 800 new buses for MMT, STC

Government in July said it will purchase 800 new buses for the Metro Mass Transit and Inter-City State Transport Corporation.

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, who revealed this when he delivered the mid-year budget review in Parliament, said in all, 200 of the buses will operate on compress natural gas while the 600 others will operate on diesel.

“…As part of Government’s effort to improve public mass transportation, the Ministry initiated processes for the acquisition of buses for the two Public Bus Companies. The objective is to improve the current bus fleet of Metro Mass and Inter-City State Transport Corporation (ISCT). In all, a total of 800 buses will be acquired. These include 200 Compress Natural Gas (CNG) and 500 diesel buses for the Metro Mass Transit and the remaining 100 diesel buses for ISTC,” he added.

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By: Farida Yusif/Citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Metro Mass Transit to get 50 new buses in 2018 appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Twenty eight buses are also expected to be registered today [Wednesday].

Buses not registered 

The move comes a day after the Marketing and Communications Manager of the Greater Accra Passenger Transport Executive, operators of the Service, indicated that none of the buses had either been registered or insured.

The BRT transport service commenced test operations on Monday with 9 buses plying the Amasaman – Achimota – Circle –Accra route with free rides.

However operators identified challenges with the log system which provided information such as when and where passengers would alight to drivers.

Concerns over the non-registration and lack of insurance for the buses and challenges with communication between passengers and the bus drivers, forced the Managers of the service to suspend operations a day after the buses were put on the streets in a test.

Officials of the BRT system told Citi News that services were also suspended to enable them train the drivers on how to use the system to facilitate non-obstructive communication between them and passengers.

Service to be expanded

The newly introduced bus service is expected to be expanded to other parts of Accra to help commute passengers faster and more conveniently.

The bus will soon be operational on the Accra – Legon – Madina – Adenta stretch.

No dedicated lanes for ‘BRT’, it’s now Quality Bus System

Meanwhile, the Greater Accra Passenger Transport Executive (GAPTE), implementers of the supposed Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) service, have given the project a new name because the buses for now do not have dedicated lanes as expected.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, the Chief Executive Officer of (GAPTE), Sampson Gyamenah, admitted there were currently no dedicated lanes, a critical element of any BRT system and instead called what was being implemented a Quality Bus System.

“We do not have a full blown dedicated lane for the buses so I will also hesitate to call what we are putting in place a BRT. It is called a Quality Bus System,” he said.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Ten BRT buses now registered appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.