Living in Ghana as a public transport commuter has become an ordeal of daily survival. From Bawku to Axim, citizens are at the mercy of trotro drivers who operate with near-total impunity, while successive governments have abandoned their responsibility to provide a functional and regulated system.
The Chronicle warns that decades of neglect have created a deeply entrenched transport disaster and if urgent action is not taken, this crisis threatens to become a full-blown national catastrophe.
Public transport management in Ghana is bereft of scientific planning, dominated instead by informal networks controlled by powerful unions. The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) sits at the center of this system, controlling terminals, managing lorry parks and setting fares with little accountability.
The Chronicle observes that these unions have become too powerful for the state to challenge, dictating terms to commuters who have no choice but to comply.
The consequences for ordinary Ghanaians are severe. Nearly 70% of the population relies on public transport, particularly trotro, yet passengers are increasingly forced to pay exorbitant fares, often double the legal amount, while waiting in long queues.
The Chronicle has documented cases of trips to Kasoa costing GHC20 instead of GHC10 and Olebu commuters paying GHC8 for what should be a standard fare. Drivers affiliated with unions are reported to refuse to load passengers at terminals unless conditions favor their profits, effectively holding citizens hostage under broad daylight.
The crisis is structural and has deep historical roots. Decades of weak policy, poor regulation and moribund decentralisation have concentrated populations in Accra and other major cities, placing enormous pressure on a transport system never designed to meet such demand.
The state’s repeated failure to modernize rail networks and expand formal mass transit has forced the majority onto overcrowded, unsafe trotros and minibuses, worsening congestion and increasing accidents. The Chronicle emphasises that ordinary Ghanaians who work tirelessly each day are the most punished by this system.
Government responses remain shamefully inadequate. By claiming on 14 January 2026 that the transport sector has been ‘privatized,’ Minister Felix Kwakye Ofosu has effectively washed the state’s hands of its duty to protect commuters.
The Chronicle asks: what serious state hands over the lifeblood of urban mobility to private actors with zero oversight? Privatisation without proper regulatory control has only entrenched union power, leaving citizens at the mercy of profit-driven operators.
The Chronicle calls on the Jubilee House to take urgent, decisive and scientific action. Pilot corridors must be established, routes properly licensed, schedules made predictable and terminal control reclaimed from unions. Unchecked union power cannot continue to dictate the lives of ordinary Ghanaians. Dedicated lanes, modern bus fleets and effective regulation are not luxuries, they are essential for safety, productivity and the dignity of citizens.
This is not an attack on workers’ rights. It is a demand for accountability, a plea for a government that serves the people, not the profits of a few powerful unions. The Chronicle insists that reform cannot wait. Every day of inaction is another day ordinary Ghanaians are fleeced, delayed and endangered. Lives, livelihoods and the future of our cities hang in the balance.
