The Metro Mass Transit Limited is a public transportation company in Ghana. The company was set us to provide reliable and affordable means of transport for commuters within villages, towns, and cities as well as provide intercity movement.
 | |
 Metro Mass Transit LTD bus in Ghana | |
| Gegründet | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Hauptsitz | Ghana |
| Service area | Ghana |
| Service type | Bus rapid transit, public bus service and school bus service |
| Alliance | Tata Starbus Tata Motors |
| Fuel type | Diesel, NGV (Trial) |
| Website | MetroMass.com |
Early days
Public bus companies have operated in Ghana since the Ominibus Service Authority (OSA) started its operations in 1927. The OSA contributed a lot to the Ghanaian society in terms of public transport. However, OSA's assets were divested in 1995.
Conception
Metro Mass Transit (MMT) arose from an idea from President John Kufuor who spoke of the need of introducing a mass transit bus system in the cities of Ghana at his inauguration speech on 7 January 2001. President Kufuor directed the re-introduction of public mass transport in the metropolitan and municipal areas to ensure the safe, affordable, efficient and reliable transport of commuters. Since then, the government has been actively promoting public mass transportation.
Metro Mass Transit Limited was officially incorporated in 2003. The shareholders include State Insurance Company (SIC Insurance Company), National Investment Bank, Ghana Oil Company Limited, Agriculture Development Bank, Prudential Bank Limited and SSNIT. These together have 55% shareholding. The Government of Ghana holds the remaining 45% shares.[1]
Operational Areas
Since the introduction of the Metro Mass Transit, the following areas have benefited from the service:[2]
- Accra Metropolitan Area
- Tema Metropolitan Area
- Kumasi Metropolitan Area
- Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Area
- Tamale Metropolitan Area
- New Juaben Municipal Area
- Sunyani Municipal Area
- Cape Coast Metropolitan Area
- Agona West Municipal Area
- Ho Municipal Area
- Wa Municipal Area
- Bolgatanga Municipal
- Birim Central Municipal Area
Fleet Size
MMT at the moment[when?] has a fleet of buses made up of Yaxing, DAF, Neoplan VDL, VDL Jonckhere, VDL Dutch, and Iveco buses. It is expected that the size of the fleet will reach 1,000 by the end of the year 2008.
Fleet: Current Fleet January 2008 Expected in 2008 End of 2008:
| Module | Fleet(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| MMT Fleets 2008 | |||
| Yaxing | 400 | 0 | 400 |
| Tata
|
26 | 0 | 26 |
| DAF | 176 | 0 | 176 |
| VDL Neoplan | 69 | 64 | 113 |
| VDL Jonckheere | 102 | 110 | 112 |
| Fiat Irisbus/Iveco | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Total | 781 | 174 | 955 |
The Fiat-Iveco buses were donated by the Italian Government and helped a great deal during the pilot phase. These buses have played their part and are being phased out.
The Yaxing buses were manufactured in China and supported by the Ghana Government. On 13 April 2006, MMT received 150 Yaxing buses from the Ministry of Roads and Transport (MRT) to augment the MMT fleet. This brought the total number of Yaxing buses received to 400 and the total operational MMT fleet to over 600.
All DAF & VDL buses have been financed through an ORET Grant agreement between the Dutch Government and Ghana. Thirty-five percent of the value is a gift of the Dutch Government whilst 65% has been provided as a loan. All DAF Neoplaan & VDL Neoplan buses are manufactured at the Neoplan factory in Kumasi.
Passengers Carried
MMT carried almost 40 million passengers nationwide from January to October 2007 over 12,000,000 kilometres (7,500,000 mi). MMT buses have carried 36,456,300 passengers nationwide and have given 3,724,644 school children free ride.
Operational Issues
A pilot Bus Rapid Transit project in Accra, connecting Adenta with the Central Business District and the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, carrying over 20,000 passengers a day commenced in September 2005. The buses operate every 15 minutes and tickets are sold in advance.
Mission & Vision
Mission
The mission of MMT is to provide an efficient urban mass transport system in Ghana through the use of buses.
Vision
To build a dominant, reliable, efficient, safe and affordable yet an economically sustainable mass transit public bus company in Ghana. MMT also aims to introduce the Bus Rapid Transit System into Ghana.[3]
Job Creations
MMT has grown to be one of the major employers in Ghana. MMT's current[when?] staff strength of around 2,474 is expected to exceed 3000 by the end of 2008 with the arrival of about 258 buses. Janitorial services, security, bus washing and cleaning are outsourced to third parties providing employment for additional 500 persons. On account of the construction of the buses in Kumasi, several indirect jobs have been created in the manufacturing sector. In general productivity of the workforce in Ghana would increase, since MMT can offer fast and reliable transport from home to the workplace. Moreover, the operations of MMT would empower the Ghanaian community by making job, shop, school and healthcare better accessible.[4]
Awards
In the year 2013, MMT won the International Transport Awards.[5] It also won the overall award in the National Road Safety awards scheme on October 2013 in the Eastern Region of Ghana.[6][7]
References
- ^ "The Establishment of MMT". Metro Mass Transit Ltd. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
- ^ "Title unknown". Retrieved 2012-12-13.
- ^ "MMT's Mission & Vision". Metro Mass Transit Ltd. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
- ^ "The Establishment of MMT". Metro Mass Transit Ltd. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
- ^ "Metro Mass wins international award". Ghana News Agency. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
- ^ Naa Korkoi Essah (ISD) (October 30, 2013). "Metro Mass Transport Tops National Road Safety Awards". Government of Ghana. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
- ^ Murtala M. Bako (November 17, 2013). "Metro Mass adjudged best transport company 2013". Ghana Web. Retrieved 2014-08-12.