The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has warned commercial drivers in the Ashanti Region against charging passengers fares above the newly approved rates.
The warning follows the implementation of an eight per cent increase in public transport fares, with the assembly saying drivers who violate the approved rates could face prosecution.
Head of the KMA Transport Department, Randy Wilson, issued the warning during a quarterly engagement with leaders of 24 transport unions in the Ashanti Region.
He said the assembly would no longer rely only on measures such as impounding vehicles and imposing fines on drivers who overcharge passengers.
According to him, offending drivers will now be prosecuted, while vehicle owners could also be summoned as part of efforts to enforce compliance.
The KMA also intends to publicly identify drivers who disregard the approved fares to discourage others from committing similar offences.
The move follows reports that some commercial drivers had increased their fares before the official eight per cent adjustment was announced.
Mr Wilson therefore directed drivers and transport union leaders to use the old approved fares as the basis for calculating the new rates.
He stressed that the eight per cent increase should not be added to fares that had already been unlawfully increased.
Meanwhile, the leadership of the 24 transport unions has accepted the new adjustment and pledged to ensure that drivers comply with the approved rates.
Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Progressive Transport Owners’ Association (PROTOA), Joseph Mensah, said union leaders would calculate the fares from their offices and provide drivers with approved rate sheets.
He also urged passengers to report drivers who charge excessive fares, saying union executives would hand offenders over to the police.
However, the unions raised concerns about so-called floating drivers who operate without belonging to recognised transport unions.
Mr Mensah called for a standard vehicle identification system, including mandatory stickers, to help authorities identify such operators.
