<<Print>>Nana Akomea, Managing Director of Inter-City State Transport Company (Intercity STC), says the company will start running an hourly shuttle service between Accra and Kumasi from July 4, this year.
Management, he noted, would respect the departure times, and the buses would move as scheduled, so long as they are half full. After capturing its market share on the Kumasi route, the attention would be shifted to the Cape Coast-Takoradi route with similar first-class service.
Speaking at a meeting with editors in Accra yesterday, Nana Akomea said the Kumasi route, which is the busiest in the country, became dormant due to lack of coaches, but the situation is being gradually addressed, hence, the hourly service.
According to him, the company currently has 50 modern coaches, whilst plans are far afoot to import 30 additional buses from Brazil, and 26 more from Korea. Nana Akomea further told the editors that he had already gone to Brazil to negotiate and inspect the high-tech buses, which are expected in the country in August this year. The other 26 buses, which are coming from a $5 million facility the government has secured from Korea, would also be arriving in the country in due course. He insisted that the loan is not free, and that Intercity STC would pay back later.
According to him, the new buses would have toilet facilities and hostesses, who would serve passengers with drinks and refreshments whilst onboard the bus. There would also be a police escort on board when the bus is traveling at night. Nana also revealed that his management was negotiating with the police to escort the busses out of heavy traffic in Accra and Kumasi, to ensure that passengers enjoy a smooth ride to their destinations.
This service ‘revolution’ should be effective between October and November this year, the former Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced.Intercity STC, presently, runs three daily shuttles between Wa and Tamale, and on the ECOWAS major route, commute between Cotonou-Abidjan and Lomé-Abidjan.
Now, to ensure that passengers’ safety is guaranteed, modern technological systems would be fixed on the new coaches the company expects from Brazil and Korea, to detect any imminent danger ahead of the journey. To this end, Nana Akomea asked passengers to have confidence in Intercity STC. What is more, the company charges the most reasonable fares, in spite of the hi-tech facilities on their coaches. Some of the current buses have coffee dispensers, and facilities to charge phones and lap top computers.