Mr N.A. Da wood, newly- elected Chairman of the Achimota Main Branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has called on the government to help revive the Achimota New Station from dying a natural death.
He said the Achimota Transport Terminal popularly known as the Achimota New Station was under-utilised by drivers and passengers, rendering the facility ‘dead’.
Mr Dawood made the call after he had been elected as the new Chairman of the union at an election held in Accra on Sunday.
He polled 21votes as against 10 by Mr Nti Boahen, his contestant, to be elected as chairman to steer the affairs of the union for a four-year term.
Other officers elected were Mr Kwaku Sarfo, Vice Chairman, Mr Norbert Yao De Souza, Secretary, Mr Amadu Zakaria, First Trustee and Mr Rahim Abdallah, Second Trustee.
Mr Dawood said built with the intent of reducing road carnages on the Achimota-Nsawam highway, the 800- vehicle capacity station constructed at the cost of GHc 4.5million had not been utilised as was initially expected.
‘Majority of drivers and passengers prefer using the shoulders of the Accra-Nsawam Road than to use the terminal,’ he said adding that some of the drivers cited examples as they were not making much money when they operated at the terminal as compared to the old station.
Some passengers GNA interviewed indicated that they had difficulty in accessing the terminal adding that it took close to two hours for a bus to get the full set of passengers instead of the 20 minutes they were used to.
The terminal set to be one of the biggest in the West Africa Sub Region has a clinic, a Police Station, passengers hall, passengers’ sheds, five canteens, toilet facilities and administrative block.