The Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC) has entreated members of the general public to brace themselves for a 20% increase in public transport fares, effective Friday, August 8, 2025.

During an interview on Adom News on Monday, August 4, the General Secretary of the GRTCC, Emmanuel Ohene-Yeboah, attributed the proposed fare adjustment to the hike in operational costs faced by transport operators, adding that his outfit will issue an official press release soon.

He referred to the recent implementation of the GH₵1 Energy Sector Levy on Wednesday, July 16, as a key contributory factor to the impending increase. He said the levy has caused an increase in expenses such as fuel, spare parts, and vehicle maintenance.

“The introduction of the GH₵1 Energy Sector Levy has significantly increased our operational costs—fuel, spare parts, and maintenance are all more expensive now. This has made it necessary for us to adjust fares to keep the transport business running,” he stated.

He urged the public to accept the fare increase, explaining that it is necessary to keep transport businesses operational. He noted that the union had previously responded positively to the government's call to reduce fares when fuel prices dropped and the cedi strengthened, hoping it would lead to lower operating costs. However, they are now facing even greater challenges

“This decision should not come as a surprise to the public. In May, we responded to the government’s request to reduce fares, anticipating a decrease in the cost of doing business. Unfortunately, the situation has worsened instead,” Mr. Ohene-Yeboah explained.

He stressed that transport unions are equally burdened and appealed to the public to remain calm and cooperate with the new fare structure. “Maintenance costs are overwhelming and are significantly affecting our operations. Without this increase, the transport business will suffer greatly,” he added, noting that the decision was made in consultation with other major transport unions.

According to the GRTCC, the 20% fare increment will affect all categories of public transportation, such as taxis, intra-city “trotro” services, intercity long-distance buses, and haulage trucks.

However, the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) has opposed the directive, announcing that it is unaware of the proposed increase in fares as being purported and circulated by its sister union, GRTCC.

During an interview on Adom News’ Midday News yesterday, Tuesday, August 5, the Deputy Public Relations Officer of the GPRTU, Samuel Amoah, expressed surprise at the announcement, stating that the union was not part of any consultations leading to such a decision.

“We only got the news yesterday, and we were surprised. We were not involved in any discussions or decision-making process regarding this fare increment by the GRTCC,” Mr. Amoah said.

According to him, for such adjustments to be made and announced, a thorough engagement is held with all relevant stakeholders, including the Ministry of Transport. “Usually, we sit around the table with all stakeholders, including the Ministry of Transport, before arriving at any decision on fare adjustments. But in this case, we were not part of it,” he added.

Mr. Amoah said the GPRTU will be engaging the Ministry of Transport in the coming days to discuss the matter and determine the appropriate way forward. On his path, the proposed 20% does not look very feasible. “As it stands, the increment announced by the GRTCC, which is supposed to take effect from August 8, 2025, may not be possible,” he noted.

In mid-July, the Coalition of Commercial Transport Operators threatened to increase transport fares by 30% should the government proceed with its GH¢1.00 per litre fuel levy.

The implementation of the new GHS1 Energy Sector Shortfall and Debt Repayment Levy on petroleum products commenced on Wednesday, July 16.

Speaking to the media on Monday, July 14, the Chairman of the Ghana Committed Drivers Association, Charles Danso, emphasised that the fare increase will take effect on Wednesday, July 16. According to him, this will ensure that the cost of the tax is distributed between drivers and commuters. The association has described the levy as “reckless and retrogressive,” intended to derail their business.

“This is not just a GH¢1 tax. We are already paying a 17.2% tax component on electricity, which includes drivers. Now the government wants to impose another levy on fuel—it’s unbearable.

“If the government refuses to listen to us, we will have no option but to pass the cost onto commuters by increasing fares by 30%,” he said.

Before the implementation of the fuel levy, the government urged the transport operators to reduce fares due to the appreciation of the cedi, coupled with its effect on economic business transactions. Around May 20, GPRTU announced that commuters are to expect a 15% drop in transport fares, effective Saturday, May 24.

Also, the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has opposed the pending increment in transport fares as announced by GRTCC.

“For the avoidance of doubt, fuel prices which used to sell for around Ghc15/litre as of January 2025, when it declined to around ghcll and Ghc12/litre saw a section of drivers who were magnanimous in reducing transport fares by some 15% though a cross section of other driver Unions did not reduce their fares and had to be literally chased by the local assemblies. On the balance of odds or numbers, the pricing levels as of today are still not anywhere near the January prices from which transport fare discussions could be had, and such is our surprise at the attempts by a section of transport operators to justify a further increase in fares as of this time,” part of a statement issued by COPEC read.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has directed all petroleum sector stakeholders to comply strictly with the new rates. This move comes under the Energy Sector Levies (Amendment) Act, 2025 (Act 1141), which was assented to by President John Dramani Mahama on June 5 to settle energy sector shortfalls, reduce legacy debts, and stabilise power supply across the country, following parliamentary approval.

GRA had announced earlier implementation of the levy; however, it was postponed after strong opposition from oil marketing companies. Initially set to take effect on Monday, June 9, it was rescheduled to start on Monday, June 16. It was then rescheduled again due to the tensions between Iran and Israel. According to Tariff Interpretation Order (TIO) No. 2025/003, issued by the GRA, the new levy affects several key fuel products.

The levy on petrol (motor spirit, super) and diesel (gas oil) will rise from GHS0.95 and GHS0.93 respectively, to GHS1.95 and GHS1.93 per litre.

Marine gas oil (local) will increase from 0.3 to 0.23, Marine gas oil(foreign) from 0.93 to 1.93, and heavy fuel oil 0.04. Petroleum products lifted before June 9, 2025, will be charged the old levy rates.

However, all cash-and-carry transactions where products are lifted on or after the effective date will attract the revised levies.

The government insists the levy is crucial for the financial recovery of Ghana’s energy sector. President John Mahama, while speaking at the presentation of the final report of the National Economic Dialogue 2025 on June 4, announced the government's decision to clear the accumulated legacy debts in the power sector with part of the revenue generated by the yet-to-be-implemented levy.