Commercial transport operators have increased fares across most parts of the Gambia, sparking concern among commuters who are unaware of any official announcement by the Gambia Transport Union or the Ministry of Transport.
Civil Press today, Monday, has gone around many areas in the West Coast Region to collect first-hand information.
From Brikama to Coastal Road, commercial drivers are collecting D20 instead of D15, while from West Field to Brikama, D35 are being collected. From Brikama to Manduar or Bakary Sambou-ya, which was initially D15, has been increased to D20, and the list goes on in other parts of the country.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Mines has recently announced government subsidies (more than D3 million) for the price of diesel and petrol, which pegs the price of petrol to D98 per litre and diesel D95 per litre, a move it says, was aimed at safeguarding citizens and businesses from significant increase in global fuel prices due to the current ongoing Middle East conflict, which would have forced consumers to buy a litre of petrol D101.9 while diesel D124.72 per litre.
Despite the announced measures, many commercial drivers across the country have moved to increase transport fares without a new tariff showing an increase. The move sparked frustration among passengers, who questioned the government’s claim of cushioning the impact of fuel increase through subsidies.
We have on multiple occasions contacted the President of the Gambia Transport Union, Omar Ceesay, but we were unable to get his take on the current situation.