Fuel Price Cut Impacts Transport Fares In Bassa
BUCHANAN, LIBERIA – Few days after government’s pronouncement reducing the prices of gasoline and diesel (fuel), Grand Bassa County is experiencing a sizable drop in transport fares.
With the pronouncement by the Commerce Ministry, gasoline which was sold in Buchanan for L$585.00 is now sold for L$520, while fuel which sold at L$700 is now L$600.
Speaking Thursday morning at the Trust Filling Station and the German Group of Companies Station in Buchanan, commercial motorcyclists expressed delight about the governmentโs action,, saying it has reduced the constraints on their operations.
Two of the cyclists, Samuel R. Tarr and Bill Smith told the Liberia News Agency (LINA) that when the price of gasoline was high on the market, passengers and riders always engaged in confrontation over transportation fares, which sometimes resulted to fist fights or complaints at police stations.
The reduction in gasoline and fuel prices has led to the reduction of motorbike transport fares from Monrovia Junction to Tubman and Robert Streets in Buchanan from L$60 to L$40.
According to the LINA Correspondent, who visited the parking stations of Genuine Transport Union and the Federation of Road Transport Union, drivers and passengers lauded the government for the step taken to reduce the price of petroleum products, describing it as a measure that has eased transportation challenges.
The drivers at the Monrovia parking station in Buchanan disclosed that due to the reduction in gasoline and fuel prices, the transportation fare to Monrovia by taxi which was L$650, has now come down to L$400.
Two drivers, who usually commute from Buchanan to Compound #3 in LAC, Mr. Harris Gedeh and Sundaygar Joe, said the fare to and from this route is currently L$600, a hundred dollar less than previous L$700.
They explained that “even though we are charging six hundred dollars, but when the passengers appeal we accept $500, adding that their decision to still be at the level of six hundred is due to the bad road condition that affects their vehicles.
Gedeh and Joe said fuel price increase is not the only reason for transport fares going up, noting that tires and spare parts as well as mechanical maintenance are part of the expenditures they undergo.
“We appreciate the government of President Weah for helping us to bring down the prices of gasoline and fuel, but we will be happier if the government reconditions the Big Joe Town-Compound #3 road that leads to the Liberia Agricultural Company and the Equatorial Palm Oil (EPO),โ the two men said.
Meanwhile, drivers plying the rural areas are appealing to Grand Bassa County authorities to collaborate with companies like the Liberia Agricultural Company, Equatorial Palm Oil and logging companies to prioritize the reconstruction or reconditioning of roads to impact the “Pro-poor Agenda of President George Weah.
LINA
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