As STC Begins Hourly Shuttle Service to Kumasi

Nana Akomea, Managing Director of Inter-City State Transport Company (Intercity STC), last Friday, announced that plans were afoot for the company to commence an hourly shuttle service between Accra and Kumasi, effective today.

The former Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) pointed out that after it has grabbed its share of the market along the Kumasi route, the company would turn its attention to the Cape Coast-Takoradi route, with similar first-class service.

Nana Akomea further announced that the company is bringing 56 new buses from Brazil and Korea to add to its pool of 50 modern coaches, to enable Intercity STC recapture its position as the number one transporter in the country.

The Chronicle wishes to congratulate management of the company for the bold initiative to reconstitute itself into the most reliable and loyal long distance transportation system Ghana can boast of.

Growing up in the 1970s, then State Transport Corporation, now Intercity STC, was all Ghanaian passengers could boast of, as it was regular and consistent, to the extent that parents could just buy tickets and put their children as young as eight years on, trusting that they would reach their destinations safe and sound.

Unfortunately, along the line, the company lost its hold to the title, allowing it to slip into the hands of private operators, who, over the years, have dictated the pace of both long and short distance transportation in the country.

The likes of the OAs, VIPs and VVIPs among others are now calling the shots, bussing people from one destination to another, while the national transporter has slipped into oblivion.

If one hits the major long distance routes in the country, for example, Kumasi, Takoradi, Sunyani, Tamale, Ho, Bolgatanga, etc, the above-named private operators are those running the show.

It is for this reason why The Chronicle is appealing to Intercity STC not to disappoint Ghanaians, once it starts its hourly shuttles from Accra to Kumasi, today.

Just like all other Ghanaians, the paper would be watching with keen interest how reliably the management would steer affairs of the national transporter to achieve its set objectives of repositioning the company as a very dependable means of transport.

It appears the second coming of Intercity STC would be marked with a difference, because, according to management, its new buses would have toilet facilities and hostesses, who would serve passengers with drinks and refreshments whilst onboard.

Furthermore, to ensure that passengers' safety is guaranteed, modern technological systems would be fixed on the new coaches being expected from Brazil and Korea, to detect any imminent danger ahead of the journey.

Also, aside a police escort on board, when the bus is travelling at night, the company is negotiating with the Police Service to escort the buses out of heavy traffic in Accra and Kumasi, to ensure that passengers enjoy a smooth ride to their destinations, what management describes as 'service revolution'.

With all these new features, Intercity STC cannot fail. We do not expect anything less than service par excellence to enable the company take back its spot as the leading transporter in the country.

We all know what happened to our railway system, which, in the 1960s and 70s, was used as the major means of transportation across the length and breadth of the country.

Many people, from the educated to un-educated, depended on the trains, which travelled mostly by night, then referred to as 'Sleeper' to arrive at their destinations.

The least talked about it the better, because there are no more trains to run the rail system in the country today.

It is the hope of The Chronicle that Nana Akomea and his new management would take the bull by the horns, especially, taking into consideration the goodwill it is enjoying, to turn the company into the leading national transporter, and maintain the position to dictate the pace for the private operators.

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