The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Service, which is now a subsidiary of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) is almost grounding to a halt because more than half the number of buses for the BRT project have grounded and left to the mercy of the weather at the STC yard near Oforikrom in Kumasi.
Already, four out 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, in what official sources at the assembly attribute to suspected arson.
The ‘Adehyie’ buses, as they are called in Kumasi, are a replica of the ‘Aayaalolo’ Bus Service in Accra and are 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 operation, which started with services for only commuters on the Ejisu-Central Business District stretch, was extended to cover 11 intra-city routes, which includeKenyase, Abuakwa, Pakyi, Aputuogya, Barekese, Mamponteng, Apromoase, Deduako, Kodie and Sokoban.
Meanwhile, a few of the 87-seater ‘smart buses’ that were operating along some of the major routes in Kumasi were heavily patronised by commuters, especially during the rush hours.
A visit to the STC by The Chronicle, however, revealed that quite a 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.
The ‘Adehyie’ smart and quality buses were designed to have little or minimum passenger or cash interface with the drivers or the bus conductors and the ideal situation was to operate on exclusive lanes where only these buses would apply.
Unfortunately, the infrastructure requirements for the buses to operate effectively and efficiently such as passengers’ slotting cards to board, passenger sheds along the routes where people can wait for the buses and also recharge booths connected with Internet or wi-fi service where passengers can buy or recharge their boarding cards have not been provided.
It is not also clear what has become of a study financed by the AfD some five years ago on Kumasi Transport Enhancement Project to determine the appropriate routes the buses should ply and the facilities required to be put in place.
These notwithstanding, the Adehyie buses can operate with or without these facilities in place, yet the KMA continues to keep them parked at the STC yard and thus defeat the economic sense for not deploying all the buses for the comfort of commuters, as the trained drivers, including three females are redundant.
Meanwhile, management of the KMA is tight-lipped over the state of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project funded by the AfD at $400,000 to raise funds for a full roll out of the BRT system which has been piloted since February 2020.
It has since July 16, 2024 declined to respond to Chronicle enquiries through the Metropolitan Chief Executive and the Head of Transport Department.
In 2020, about GHc240,071.00 was reported to have been misappropriated from the BRT accounts for the payment of ex-gratia to sub-committee and assembly members, in negation of the objective of the strategy to enhance public transport.
From Thomas Agbenyegah Adzey, Kumasi
