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Public Reacts Angrily to New Transport Tariffs
Tuesday, 12 April 2011 01:28
JollofNews - As The Gambia National Transport Control Association (GNTCA) increases all commercial
transport fares across the country, our Gambia based correspondent takes a look at what commuters in the Gambia make of the new tariff. The new increment ranges from two Dalasi to three and five Dalasi for short distance (noted as junction to junction), average and long distance respectively. The last time transport fares were increased in the Gambia was in July 2008.Barely a week experience of increased transport fares, the vast majority of people who commute to their workplaces have denounced it as greedily motivated and unwarranted.
“The government should intervene and reverse this new tariff in the soonest possible time to avoid any likely adverse repercussions,” a civil servant, who claimed to be travelling between Banjul and Brikama daily, told me.
The new rates which took effect on 4th April 2011 were generally welcomed by drivers and those in the transport industry.
Samba Sanyang, a chef de garage at the Serrekunda-Bakau car park, blamed the whole development on high fuel prices at the world market. Samba appealed to their esteem customers to bear with them saying that “this is beyond our control.”
A student who preferred to be anonymous criticized the new tariff and urged the GNTCA to reconsider its decision.
“’Oil prices are skyrocketing’, that is their argument, but they should understand that oil prices generally rise and fall,” the student argued. “Interestingly, here fares only always rise. The GNTCA has never reduced fares because fuel prices have gone down. This is a very unfair treatment of us as consumers.”
For Ebrima Jatta, a regular commuter between Serrekunda and Tujereng, part of the problem is the lack of a consumer protection authority.“Consumer security and interest are least looked after in this country. That is why anyone from anywhere can just do whatever they want and get away with it, he said. He further adduced that the recent increment was in clear contradiction to consumer interest. “I do not even think that consumers (commuters) were consulted during the process,” he swore.
Fatou Kijera believes that GNTCA should have had a consultative session through the media and also sensitize the public on the new tariff in advance. “They should not just wake up one morning and tell passengers fares have been increased. This is likely to have negative impact on most of us because we are not well prepared for it, she noted. Mrs Kijera narrated that while on commuting she had witnessed lot of quarrels among passengers and drivers and their apprentices. And for her, all this is because “the public is not part of that decision and they are not well informed of it.”
Although some people may see the recent increment in fares as insignificant, it will undoubtedly have its course on many commuters who have to try to augment their meager resources to afford to travel daily to and from their workplaces. The increase is adversely affecting the people particularly the poor and middle class who are already burdened beyond their capacity owing to the rising prices of basic commodities. One, therefore, will only need to wait to see what the future holds.
Writtenby Alpha Jallow
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Comments
So, keep quiet.
Comment
None other than the government increased fares. The GNTCA consulted & proposed the increament due to fuel cost inflations by same government; who accepted & sanctioned the increase; I was on the ground in Gambia during the increase. The government’s to blame for fuel increase which in turn impact on fares & cost of commodities without increasing pay & considering the general peasants without regular incomes. Commodity prices will soon follow to recoup the increase cost of moving goods.
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