The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) has rejected claims by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia that the newly introduced automated transport ticketing known as “Tap and Go” will soon be rolled out on intra-city transport minivans popularly known as ‘trotro’.
During the launch of the initiative, Dr. Bawumia noted that the new “Tap and Go” digital system, unlike the Ayalolo card, which was only limited to the intra-city Ayalolo bus, is expansive and tailored to support other public transport services including parcel delivery and tracking, taxi hailing, intercity bus services, and inner cities bus services such as Metro Mass and Ayalolo.
“Soon we are looking forward to bringing on board the GPRTU trotro services which will be integrated seamlessly,” he noted.
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However reacting to this, the Industrial Relations Officer of the GPRTU, Abass Moro says the Vice President’s aim to have the “Tap and Go” system on trotros is not possible.
“Tap and Go can never work in trotro…….. is not going to be workable because of the system of trotro we are operating. It can be used in taxis and long-distance vehicles, but trotros no!
“Trotro is mostly used for short distances and the way it operates, one joint, trotro can be full, move about a mile, half of the passengers will alight from the trotro, then you will be picking one after the other. Are you saying halfway through the journey, if he’s going to pick somebody and the network is not good for about five minutes, a trotro driver will be standing by one passage?
“The answer is no, so it can never, never, never, never, never, never, work with trotro,” Mr Imoro explained on Starr FM.
Mr Moro attributed what he describes as the erroneous claim by the Vice President, to lack of consultation with the GPRTU.
“If we were consulted, we would have told him the truth. Why would we tell lies to our brother to laugh, when in the end, your brother will meet the truth and be crying, it can never work. The trotro system we operate cannot operate any digital system,” he insisted.
He further questioned the level of awareness created in getting people to opt for the card system especially as many he says still have funds locked up on their ayalolo card.
“Have we educated our people enough to keep their money on cards?
“The first system introduced is the Ayalolo. So many passengers have their money locked up on those cards, as that system was abandoned halfway,” he said.
Similar to the widely-used Oyster Card in the United Kingdom, the “Tap and Go” system entails a digital card preloaded with cash.
Passengers can conveniently pay for their fare by tapping the card on a fixed machine/reader aboard the bus.
The Ghanaian version of the “Tap and Go” card boasts additional features, including both physical and virtual versions, aimed at enhancing convenience for users.
Users will have the flexibility to download the Tap and Go app on their mobile phones and opt for the virtual card option.
This enables them to make payments directly through their phone, eliminating the necessity for a physical card if preferred.
The initiative, spearheaded by the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is part of the government’s digitalization efforts to formalize the economy, and promote a cashless society.