Six years after former president John Dramani Mahama, commissioned the Ayalolo transport system, its potential is yet to be fully realized. Without mincing words, the buses have been practically run down by the current managers.
When President John Dramani Mahama commissioned it on November 25, 2016, the people in the city and indeed, the commuters, were happy and had high hopes that this laudable project would help bring relief to them, as they make their way to and from their homes.
At the time of the commissioning, Ayalolo had imported about Two hundred and forty-five buses, to implement the urban transport system to improve public transportation in the country.
The buses, with the capacity to take 80 passengers, are equipped with GPS, cameras, television monitors and mobile charging points.
According to president Mahama, “Almost, 70 per cent of motorised person trips in the city depend on some form of bus transport, which is the dominant mode and uses a third of the road space. In contrast, private cars and taxis provide only a quarter of the person trips but occupy half of the road space”.
The former Mahama noted that transport system in Accra was characterised by heavy congestion, particularly during the peak periods, heavy dependence on informal bus services and inadequate facilities for pedestrians.
Unfortunately, as the days roll by into weeks, months and years, every hope that the Ayalolo buses, will ever be fully functional is gradually fading away, making it a mirage.
The woes of the Ayalolo bus service is far from over as the company risks completely shutting its operations.
In fact, it is gradually getting listed among the many run down schemes started by previous governments.
The recent 20 percent hike in transport fare, which follows a 15 percent increment just two months ago, should serve as a wake-up call to authourities to revamp the company and bring it back to operation.
There is no gainsaying that many Ghanaians have benefited from the Ayalolo buses and it operations have also impacted positively on the Ghanaian economy.
This newspaper is appealing to the government and management of the Ayalolo buses, put back life into the operations of the urban transport system.
