MMT TAKES STEPS TO CHECK CHEATING PASSENGERS (PAGE 20, OCT 20, 2009)

THE Management of Metro Mass Bus Transit (MMT) has started an exercise to ensure that passengers boarding the company’s buses pay for the service they enjoy.
Dubbed: “Operation show your ticket”, the exercise is targeted at limiting the rate of stealing on the bus.
According to the Upper East Regional Manager of MMT, Mr Stephen Abubakari, of late, most passengers virtually sneak into the buses on the blind side of the crew members, that is, the conductor and the drivers.
He explained that this time round, management was shifting the responsibility for obtaining tickets to the passengers, adding that it was the right of passengers to insist on their tickets when boarding any metro mass bus.
"When we are on inspection duty, we would not say it is the conductor who has refused to issue the passenger with a ticket , but rather the passenger has sneaked into the bus.
Mr Abubakari said to ensure the success of sensitisation exercise, some project team members in the company, namely Mrs Adjoa Akyere Bondzie, Ms Juliet Molisha Ofori and Mr Kwame Korang had toured the bus terminus of the MMT in the region to educate their clients on the new measures being adopted by management to ensure transparency.
The team told the passengers that MMT had come to stay and, therefore, urged them to support the company to generate more revenue in order to acquire more strong buses to serve them better.
Members of the team entreated the passengers to support management in its efforts at minimising fraud on their routes.
They warned that people with no valid tickets caught on the buses would be made to pay a fine of 15 times the face value of the ticket or in default, will be handed over to the police for prosecution.
“We hope to limit the incidence of fraud and increase revenue for the company which will be ploughed back into maintaining the buses and put us in the position to serve the public well”, Mr Abubakari stressed.
He said fares charged by the MMT were very reliable and the company needed more revenue in order to render better services.
While soliciting support of the passengers to assist management to improve , Mr Abubakari advised staff of the company to be professional, adding that any staff who was found wanting in terms of service delivery would be sanctioned.
He urged the staff to be customer friendly and keep to the orientation that had been provided them prior to their engagement.
Earlier, the team paid a courtesy call on the paramount Chief of Bolgatanga, Naba Martin Abilba, the Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, some Municipal and District Chief Executives as well as the Deputy Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) George Tuffour, to solicit their support for the success of the latest exercise by MMT to check fraud on the buses.