The Ghana Private Road Transport Union, GPRTU, has announced its decision to roll out a mandatory vehicle towing system, effective October this year (2022) with a period of sensitization spanning between August and September.
General Secretary of the GPRTU, Godfred Abulbire, said the initiative is to ensure the quick removal of faulty vehicles from roads.
He said the new Towing System is in partnership with t he Road Safety Management Service Limited.
He indicated that drivers will have to subscribe to an online application that has been developed to effectively deliver the service.
Mr. Abulbire said the contractual agreement between the GPRTU and the Road Safety Management Service Limited, requires vehicle owners to pay annual subscription fees depending on the type of vehicle.
He said taxis are to pay 50 Cedis, trotros are supposed to pay 80 Cedis, long buses paying a sum of 300 Cedis with articulated trucks also paying up 500 Cedis.
He added that the Road Safety Company, had brought in over 250 towing trucks to guarantee that every District gets at least, one towing center.
He explained that the laid down process that had been developed by the towing company would allow drivers to sign up for the system with their corresponding details.
According to him, a five percent discount will be enjoyed by subscribers who have 10 vehicles or more.
He further added that the system has an effective reporting system that enables drivers, passengers and passersby to report incidents of faulty vehicles for immediate action.
He stated that the GPRTU constitutes 85 percent of the private transport space and is well equipped to administer this Mandatory Vehicle Towing Service, stressing that the Union would leverage its dominance in the transport industry to ensure the towing levy is effective.
He said when the new towing policy is fully implemented, any driver without the Vehicle Towing Identification Card would be denied the right to load at any of GPRTU’s terminals.
Mr. Abulbire said the National Road Safety Association has issued directives to Transport Terminals and Unions to engage and train drivers as part of measures to control road crashes.
