It has been confirmed that only 15 out of the 60 smart buses allocated to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to operate public transport is currently operational.
Thirty- eight of the 87-seater ‘Adehyie’ buses, as they are called in Kumasi, and a replica of the ‘Aayaalolo’ bus service in Accra, are grounded due to faulty parts.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive, Richard Ofori-Agyeman Boadi, who disclosed this at the 2nd session of the 9th meeting of the Assembly, said upon a visit to the KMA-BRT on October 17, 2025 it came to light that six of the 60 Scania Marcopolo buses received by the KMA from the Ministry of Transport for piloting of the BRT service got burnt beyond repairs. One other Bus was involved in an accident, the mayor disclosed.
The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, which has been piloted since February 2020, was funded by the AfD at $400,000 to raise funds for a full roll out of the BRT system in Kumasi.
The buses were part of some 206 buses imported by then National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration, under the late former President Prof. Atta Mills, through the Ministry of Transport for the BRT project in the major cities across the country.
The Bus Rapid Transit operations, which started with services for only commuters on the Ejisu-Central Business District stretch was extended to cover 11 intra-city routes.
They were; Kenyase, Abuakwa, Pakyi, Aputuogya, Barekese, Mamponteng, Apromoase, Deduako, Kodie and Sokoban routes to enhance public transport.
However, a few of the buses operate along few of the major routes in Kumasi and are heavily patronised by commuters, especially during the rush hours.
A visit by The Chronicle to the STC, however, revealed that quite some number of the buses parked inside the main STC yard at Oforikrom were without tyres and either hanging on bricks or logs and some with major dents and damaged doors and screens.
Meanwhile, the Kumasi Metropolitan Authority has recommended that the Transport Department must assign BRT buses to assist stranded passengers and commuters while Management of the BRT transport should be invited to brief the General Assembly on the operations of the BRT system.
The mayor announced that the Transport Sub-Committee of the Assembly observed
an increase in illegal transport activities at the Central Business District (CBD), non-payment of permits, slow data submission for the smart transport project while drivers flouted transport regulations.
He affirmed that the Authourity has recommended that drivers and executives who charge illegal fares must be arrested and that the Transport Department of the KMA must enforce the use of destination indicator stickers effective November 3, 2025.
The Authority has also recommended that the enforcement team is adequately resourced to consolidate the achievements so far made – increase in the renewal of permits with 148 permits renewed and a 65% increase in transport data submission for the Smart Transport Project.
For more news, join The Chronicle Newspaper channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBSs55E50UqNPvSOm2z
