Metro Mass Drivers Fear To Pick Pregnant Women

Metro Mass Transit bus operators say they are worried about letting pregnant women board their vehicles which ply the Ho-Sogakofe Accra route. �It takes nightmare to traverse portions of the road which are so rugged that they cause the buses to shake terribly, and we cannot handle cases of premature births or miscarriages on board,� said Stephen Acquah-Wilson, national trustee of the company. Mr Acquah-Wilson, who is also the Volta Regional Vice Chairman of Metro Mass Transit, said in an interview last week that there are no trained health personnel on board for that purpose. He said the rapidly deteriorating nature of the road had often been a source of worry since that could not be ruled out. �We only have first aid boxes on the buses for minor incidents,� he said. According to Mr Acquah-Wilson, the Metro Mass Transit buses often break down on the route, causing stress and discomfort to travelers. �In the event of our buses breaking down in the night, we can easily be attacked by armed robbers,� he said. He said the lack of clear demarcation at the Ho Lorry station allows taxis to compete with the metro buses. �That is another situation which is causing congestion and compromising safety at the station,� Mr Acquah-Wilson said. Meanwhile, investigation by The Spectator has revealed that traffic on the Ho-Sogakofe-Accra route has increased considerably since last week, following the drastic fall on the water level of the Volta River at Senchi. Only a handful of vehicles can now be loaded onto each of the two pontoons. As at Monday, some vehicles travelling between Accra and Volta Region had to wait four hours at Senchi before getting into the pontoon. The Spectator team was compelled to detour from Senchi, using the Kpong dam bridge to Akuse junction before continuing to Accra.