Ministry of Transports denounces proposed Transport Union strike
The Ministry of Transport, Works and Infrastructure has toughly condemned the proposed sit-down strike by the Gambia Transport Union as it has learnt with regret, a call to sit-down strike set by the Gambia Transport Union at a time when the Government is presently engaged in dialogues with the Union to resolve the challenges confronting the sector.
In a press release issued, it stated that the Ministry of Transport takes note of the content of the press release issued recently by the Transport Union and that the Ministry of Transport takes this opportunity with assurance to the public that the Ministry is open to discussion with the Transport Union.
The press release further revealed that the Ministry of Transport has always maintained that in as much as it wants to champion the cause of the transport sector and to negotiate a fair deal with the transporters, it is not justifiable to increase transport fees in a situation of chaos and disorder where commuters are charged multiple fees for the same distance.
Over the last two years, the release added that, the Ministry of Transport came up with various initiatives including a pilot ‘route licensing model’ as a strategy to eradicate multiple charging on the same route.
While the Ministry is presentlyreviewing a number of options to support the transporters and ameliorate the challenges, they are going through several innovative solutions and are also being proffered obliging all commercial vehicles to have clearly identifiable stickers with indicative destinations to stop multiple charges of commuters.
The release said that on the crossing fee at the Senegambia Bridge, it should to be noted that the Government of The Gambia has not increased the tariff but rather maintained the same tariff since the inauguration in 2019.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transport is pleased to inform the general public that it is working with the Gambia Transport Service Company (GTSC) to fully deploy its fleet of buses across the Greater Banjul Area starting Monday.
This deployment strategy is in line with Government’s Transport Policy to ease the difficulties currently faced by commuters. However, it could be recalled that 38 new buses were launched to curb challenges in the sector.
That the bus services will run beyond normal operational hours and will cover the following routes:
Brikama – Banjul which will be in multiple runs, Kanifing – Brikama (multiple runs), Sunchu – Banjul (multiple runs), Tippa Garage – SanyangJambanjelly, Jambur, Jabang&Sukuta (multiple runs), Sukuta – Banjul (multiple runs), Tippa Garage – Banjul (multiple runs), Brusubi – Banjul (multiple runs), Westfield – Bakau (multiple runs), Buffer Zone – Banjul (multiple runs), Westfiled – Manjai (multiple runs), Mandinaring – Banjul (multiple runs), Tabokoto – Banjul (Multiple runs), Kartong – Banjul via Gunjur, Tujereng, Tanji&Brufut (multiple runs), Giboroh – Banjul (multiple runs) and Kanifing Estate – Bartez also with (multiple runs).
The release concluded that there will also be special bus services on standby to respond to upsurge in demand especially in congested areas within the Greater Banjul Area and that the provincial bus services will still run as normal.
