Bring back public transport service schemes to cushion the poor-Prof. Poku-Boansi

Urban Transport Planner and Resettlement Specialist at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Prof. Michael Poku-Boansi wants government to reintroduce public transport service schemes to lessen the financial burden of the poor.

“There is an urgent need for the government of Ghana through the Ministry of Transport to seriously implement public transport service schemes (e.g., #BRT) as one of the best ways to stabilize transport costs and particularly minimize the financial stress on lower income people, improve accessibility, affordability, and mobility needs of the people. The case of Dar as Salaam should inspire us as a country,” he explained.

Available reports suggest that almost seven out of every ten households in Ghana do not own a vehicle.

This implies that public transport and walking are the only avenues for meeting their accessibility and mobility needs.

However, Bus Rapid Transit adoption has been difficult in many African cities. Ghana especially couldn’t sustain the system which began in 2012.

Though, a bus service, #Aayalolo, was introduced in 2016 over a 22 km circuit, mismanagement led to a fold up in 2018.

Delivering his professorial inaugural lecture on the topic: “Transport poverty in Africa: Planning for our mobility futures in an era of sustainability”, Prof. Poku-Boansi bemoaned Ghana’s inability to sustain the Bus Rapid Transit system.

He indicated the system was more accessible to majority of the citizenry.

“As compared to fixed rail, which is more expensive and difficult for developing countries to finance, BRT is thought to offer a considerably more affordable option for public transportation.

“Ghana’s BRT Project started at the same time as the one in Dar er Salaam in Tanzania. While Ghana’s project could not see the light of day, the project in Tanzania became a success and currently has 305 buses, carries 300,000 passengers daily, and became the first African city to win the Sustainable Transport Award in 2018,” he said.

He added: “Deducing from the outcome of some of the initiatives of the Government of Ghana, it will not be far-fetched to conclude that transport poverty is going to stay with us for some time to come unless some drastic interventions are carefully planned and implemented”. 

Prof. Poku-Boansi called for what he’s termed, National Transport Poverty Index (NTPI) to mitigate the issue.

“An NTPI, led by a partnership between the Ministries of Transport and Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, and Academia to measure how far the various districts in Ghana are addressing transport Slum Upgrading Project Pictorial View of Local Transport Plan Pictorial View of BRT poverty is recommended.

“The NPTI will also be used to rank the various districts. Variables such as transport access, transport mobility, transport affordability, exposure to transport externalities, and inclusiveness could serve as the basis for developing such an index. The development and use of the NTPI will be the first of its kind, globally, and will serve as a useful tool in shaping transport investment decisions in the future,” he noted.