Thousands of passengers face an increase in transport fares from Friday (20 January), the Ministry of Transport has announced. 

In a press statement issued today (16 January), the ministry said it has “reached an agreement” with various stakeholders in the transport sector “to increase the transport fares for all official routes across the country, effective 20th January 2023.”

“However as a condition for the implementation of transport fare increment and the new tariffs, route licensing will be introduced for various destinations across the country. Route licensing is a scheme that allows vehicles to register and ply a particular route.”

The ministry added that the “objective of introducing a route licensing scheme is to eliminate the charging of double or triple fares for various destinations. 

“Already, the stickers and permits have been issued to vehicles plying various routes within the Greater Banjul Area. It is expected that the scheme will be rolled out to all other routes within the country in due course.

“The Transport Union and heads of Car Parks are urged to ensure that drivers adhere to the principles guiding route licensing. It is anticipated that as the government fulfilled its promise in increasing tariffs, we expect the Union and its members to also fulfill their commitment as per the Communiqué signed in September 2022. 

“The Ministry would like to categorically state that doubling or tripling fares will no longer be tolerated in the road transport industry. Failure to comply with the new route licensing scheme by the transporters will result in taking necessary actions. Transporters and all stakeholders are urged to comply with these processes,” the statement said.