The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly has disputed claims that all vehicles under the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) operations have been grounded.
Managers say 33 of the buses are currently working, with 21 grounded.
Out of the 60 buses received, five got burnt completely on suspected arson and one had an accident- beyond repairs.
Branch Manager of BRT-Aayalolo, Sampson Adu Larbi, says most of the grounded buses were brought from Accra with minor faults which demanded the attention of the supplier.
In 2018, three of the BRT buses were brought to Kumasi for piloting. Later in the year, additional 57 buses were supplied.
Managers say Kumasi was not part of the initial plan of the Bus Rapid Transport, hence the challenges in management.
Access to parking space for the buses and a terminal at the central business district for boarding became a major hindrance.
Amidst the difficulties, STC Ghana granted them a temporary parking space at their Oforikrom yard.
Kumasi Branch Manager of BRT-Aayalolo, Sampson Adu Larbi, says competing with other commercial vehicles has been challenging, but the company is successfully managing 33 of the buses in Greater Kumasi.
Kumasi Mayor, Samuel Pyn, says the BRT is expecting World Bank support to get a dedicated route for the buses, including a terminal at Sokoban to operate fully in Greater Kumasi.
“STC shut-down our plans to get where the buses are parked develop, they say it wasn’t part of the initial agreement, and that is true. We only negotiated to park the buses not to operate from there. Currently, we are working with World Bank to ensure the BRT buses fully operate in greater Kumasi”. at the STC yard
Meanwhile, there are no plans of getting the 21 grounded buses back on the roads. Some of their tyres and other parts were removed.
The initiators of the BRT in Ghana failed to train mechanics to fix faulty buses.
Mr. Adu Larbi says the Scania Company is expected to help fix the faulty buses.
He also seeks the permit of the Transport Ministry to auction the burnt buses.
“Currently, we have about 21 buses being grounded, before the buses came from Accra to Kumasi here, some of them had various faults and these are electronic buses. So the parts are not ready in our local market, we need the manufacturer which is Scania to come and fix them. Communication has gone higher that, we have received response from them and very soon they will come and fix them,” he explained.
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