Kumasi — FOUR BODIES, including the Government of Ghana, have contributed a total of US$95 million for the implementation the Urban Passenger Transport project launched in September 2007 to improve upon urban mobility in Ghana.

The project, expected to be implemented over a five year period, seeks to change the face of public transportation and reduce congestion in the cities following urbanisation.

The World Bank provided US$45 million, while the Global Environmental Facility Trust Fund (GEF) donated US$7 million, with Agence Française de Development (AFD) and the Government of Ghana committing US$27 million and US$16 million respectively into the project.

Mr. Ludwig Hesse, team leader at the Project Advisory Office, who disclosed this in Kumasi while delivering a presentation, said the funding would cater for five main components under the project.

These, he mentioned as Institutional Development (US$14.5 million); Traffic Engineering, Management and Safety (US$31 million); Development of a Bus Rapid Transit System (US$46 million), Integration of Urban Development Planning and Transport Planning for better Environmental Management (US$2 million) and Monitoring and Evaluation (US$1.5 million).

Mr. Hesse indicated that the car population was likely to increase five fold in the next 15 to 20 years, hence the need for an Urban Transport Policy to regulate public transport operations to support the overall development of the urban areas.

He said to improve mobility Urban Passenger Transport Units would be established in the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, for which bye-laws would be passed to promote a sustainable transport mode, through the implementation of a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, as provided for in section 79 of the Local Government Act 462.

On this strength of this law, the Assemblies, as regulatory authorities, are enjoined to establish Urban Passenger Transport Units, issue operational permits, charge registration and other fees, set fares, outline offences and penalties, and well as evolve public transport plans for the development of their respective areas.

Mr. Hesse explained the BRT, as a bus-based mass transit system that delivers fast, comfortable, reliable, safe and cost effective urban mobility, which system he said, was being used in option studies for Kumasi, while it is being piloted in Accra.

In the Ashanti Region, the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) and the Ejisu-Juaben Municipal Assembly (EJMA) have passed bye-laws for the BRT, and that registration of routes by the various transport unions would be completed by September this year, for the implementation of the BRT system.