Metro Mass Begs For Buses

THE ASHANTI Regional branch of the Metro Mass Transit (MMT) have appealed to government to increase their fleet of buses to enable them properly serve the increasing number of passengers that visit their premises on a daily basis.

“Approximately 3,000 passengers are served by the Kumasi Depot of the MMT on a daily basis now and our buses that are in good state to serve these passengers are far below 100. We therefore want our bus ratio to increase to at least 200”, Nicholas Oduro, the Ashanti Regional Manager of the MMT has stated.

Mr. Nicholas Oduro, making the appeal, explained that the number of passengers, who visit the Kumasi MMT Depot on a daily basis, had increased sharply in recent times, hence the need for more buses.

According to him, due to inadequate number of buses and other pressing challenges, the Kumasi Depot of the MMT is unable to serve all the passengers that troop to their yard on a daily basis in search of a bus to travel, saying “We need more buses”.

He disclosed that currently the MMT boasts of about 63 buses that are in good condition to operate, noting that they are expecting 20 additional new buses next week from government. But he was quick to point out that his depot still needs more buses to deliver properly.

Mr. Oduro was speaking when the Kumasi Mayor, Osei Assibey Antwi, accompanied by KMA staff members, paid a day’s working visit to the premises of the Kumasi branch of the Metro Mass Transit (MMT) at Abrepo Junction in Kumasi on Friday afternoon.

The visit was among other things, intended to offer the Mayor an opportunity to acquaint himself with the present condition and challenges faced by the Kumasi Depot of the MMT so that he can contribute to get the problems solved to enhance MMTs operations.

Mr. Oduro also said the road network at the Kumasi Depot MMT yard is currently in bad state, which as a result causes damages to MMT buses.

He said: “there is an urgent need for our roads to be fixed to help prevent our buses from getting damaged”.

Osei Assibey Antwi, the Kumasi Mayor, on his part, admitted that indeed the road network at the MMT yard is not worth writing home about. He promised that the KMA would get its road engineering department to grade the entire depot to save the MMT buses.

The Kumasi Mayor said he was highly impressed about the level of transformation that Nicholas Oduro had brought to the Kumasi Depot of the MMT within a short period, urging him to sustain his good works. He also told him to crack the whip on any recalcitrant staff whose actions would impede progress.

By: Afia Sarpong Amankwa