Patrons of Aayalolo buses are unhappy with managers of transport company, the Greater Accra Passenger Transport Executive (GAPTE), following the shortage of the Aayalolo cards for nearly a month.
According to the unhappy passengers, the company ran out of the cards last December, 2017 and as of date, the company has not been able to print new cards.
They explain that patrons are made to buy a paper (bar code) per trip, which according to them, is not convenient and expires per trip.
Since the launch of the then Bus Rapid Transit System and now Quality Bus Service, popularly called Aayalolo by ex-President John Mahama on June 22, 2016, Aayalolo has largely come to ease the stress associated with public transport system in parts of Accra.
Currently, 58 buses out of about 245 imported into the country for the Quality Bus System (QBS) are being used on the Amasaman-Achimota-Tudu corridors.
The programme is a collaborative effort between the Greater Accra Passenger Transport Executive (GAPTE), managers of the Aayalolo buses, Scania Ghana and the German government.
A visit to some of the sales points of the Aayalolo bus terminals, including Tudu, Achimota, and Amasaman confirmed the story as the sales officers only issue the bar code papers instead of the electronic cards.
In an interview, a sales executive told Graphic Online that although the cards ran short last December, “managers are working on it and we will soon have some at our sales points”.
Asked when the cards are expected, the sales executive said “for the specific date, I can’t tell but we are expecting them in no time at all.”
Emmanuel Frimpong, an agitated customer said he had been to more than four sales points to buy the card but none could help him.
He said he lost his electronic card along with his wallet on Christmas Eve at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and since then, he has been struggling to obtain a new one.
For Monica Ohemeng, the shortage of the cards could have been prevented since the operators knew and were aware that many people have being patronizing their services.
“We take customers for granted in our country too much…they knew the cards were getting finished but they decided not to make plans to bring in new ones,” she lamented.
According to the obviously angry Ohemeng, who had just bought one of the barcode tickets at the Tudu terminal, “since my card spoilt, I have been asking the sales girls in the booth for more than one month and they keep on telling me the cards will be in soon.”
“I don’t know why we should queue every morning and evening to buy the barcodes. They could have prevented this unnecessary queuing by issuing new cards,” Stan Komla told Graphic Online.
Speaking to an Aayalolo official who pleaded anonymity, he said “our managers tell us that the cards will be in but the truth is that I personally don’t know when.”
The source added “it is very worrying when passengers come and want to buy the cards and they are made to buy the barcodes, some don’t want the papers but there is nothing they can do about it.”
“You can’t use the barcode for two trips, it is only used once,” said the source, adding “but the barcodes also work just like the cards except that you can’t keep credit on it”.
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