By Yusupha Jobe
Passengers across the country have raised concern over the current increase of fare by the commercial vehicles’ drivers following the declared State of Emergency that states numbers of passenger vehicles are allowed to carry as part of precautionary measures adopted to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
The President, in a televised national address on Friday, 27th March 2020 announced some rules to follow as precautionary measures in other to avoid fast spread of coronavirus pandemic which among requires commercial vehicles to carry half of total number of passengers capacity allowed to transport by law.
Many passengers in an interview with The Voice said the instant increase in price of commercial vehicles following government’s announcement to prevent any spread of the virus affects their day to day business.
Fatou Camara on her part said the increase on transport fare by commercial drivers has greatly affected her daily business. She complained that now she pays to and fro D50 from Sanyang to Brikama as against old fare.
“We cannot be thinking of effect coronavirus has on us and our businesses and think of increase in price of transport fare. We used to pay only D13 to Brikama before but now drivers are charging D25 as to and from Brikama will cost you D50.”
Considering the difficulties going through on daily basis, she said there is nothing to keep for family at this difficult time. “If government wants to avoid closeness in commercial vehicles and the same time prevents increase in transportation fare, government must subsidies the price of fuel to maintain stable transport fares,” she said.
Buba Gassama a commuter said government decision to reduce number of passengers carrying by commercial vehicles in order to prevent closeness in public vehicles requires subsidization of fuel pump at the petrol stations to discourage the increase in transport fare.
He stated that the rise in transport fare will no doubt affect the entire population as most people depend only on commercial transportation.
Speaking rhetorically, “how can you instruct me to take only a required number of passengers in my car as a commercial driver without putting measures to prevent any increase in transport fare? What the government should have done is to consult petrol dealers for a possible subsidization of price of fuel.”
