The Intercity State Transport Corporation (STC) is gradually discovering its glorious past.
With the acquisition of new buses and the introduction of new leadership styles to conducting business, many of the patrons who deserted the company are retracing their steps back.
Also, services discontinued on some of the routes have been restored. STC is not only operating long buses, it has introduced shuttle services on a number of its routes.
The green and yellow colours of STC have once again caught the attention of commuters and the company has been forced to re-introduce advance tickets.
For the Easter activities, the tickets for the long distance travels have been over-subscribed.
According to the company, at least 18 buses have been booked to transport travellers from the terminal near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Accra, to other parts of the country on daily basis throughout the Easter season.
At the Tudu terminal in Accra, the company said it had made arrangement for 30 shuttles to transport travellers to the Volta Region during the season.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra last Tuesday, the Head of Operations of the STC, Mr Victor Anane-Frimpong, said the corporation had intensified all its safety measures to safeguard the lives of its passengers throughout the season and beyond.
“As part of preparations, driver education and vehicle maintenance have been intensified in order to help the company maintain its standards in terms of safety,” he said.
Mr Anane-Frimpong said safety which had been the hallmark of the company would not be compromised at all to safeguard the lives of travellers during the period.
The season The Easter season is one of the popular periods for travelling by most Christian groups, tourists and other holiday makers nationwide.
Most travellers during this period employ the services of both private and public transport operators for religious, holiday and tour activities.
The period has, however, been noted for road accidents and travellers getting stranded at bus terminals over the years.
The Head of Public Affairs of the STC, Nana Ama Asafo-Boakye, assured customers of their safety and added that the company would give them the necessary care and attention.
Other terminals Meanwhile, the Daily Graphic has observed that the situation was quite different at other bus terminals, including the Neoplan, Metro Mass transit and VIP terminals.
It was observed that only a few travellers were patronising the services of those transport operators as of last Tuesday but it was expected that patronage would increase by today.
The Transport Manager of VIP, Mr Eric Botwey, said unlike previous years, business had been very slow.
According to him, the presence of almost all the Accra buses at the Accra terminal was an indication of the slow nature of business.
VIP Transport has 130 buses at its Accra terminal.
He, however, expressed the hope that by midday yesterday and today business would pick up.
Mr Botwey said the company would continue to put measures in place to avoid road accidents.
“We have instituted a system of loading to give priority to the time of departure by all drivers to avoid speeding so that they could drive to their destinations safely,”he said.
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