The traffic situation in the country’s capital, Accra is becoming unbearable by the day, a worrying situation which needs urgent attention by the traffic management authorities.

Passengers spend productive hours in vehicles to their various destinations, while drivers burn fuel needlessly over a distance of about a few meters, but end up spending over an hour, especially where the price of fuel has been increased  making it difficult for them to meet their daily sales target.

Drivers and passengers have shared their thoughts about the terrible congestions on major roads of Accra such as Madina-Adenta, Legon, Osu and Oyibi.

The Ghanaian Times observed that vehicle jams in the city were not different from previous years as it kept deteriorating each day.

Again, it was noticed that due to the breakdown of some traffic lights, policemen and women assisted in directing cars, which sometimes slowed the movement of vehicles.

Apart from the delay caused by traffic, fuel wastage and low productivity was another challenge to drivers and passengers as they recorded losses and inefficiency at work.

Mr Ishmael Hassan, a trader from Madina, venting his frustration, said “When I leave home at 4:30am from Madina, I get to work around 7:00am in Accra, which leaves me frustrated as the situation is made worse by the non-functioning of some traffic lights.”

A student of the Accra Technical University (ATU), Cecilia Tetteh, who stays at Oyibi, said “looking at the long-distance and the hours I spend on the road, it is disturbing, the traffic and the heat in the cars makes one stressed and tired”.

Mrs Theresa Ahin, a lecturer at University of Ghana (UG) Legon, said she spent more than an hour to commute from Tema to Legon compelling her to relocate to her family house close to UG.

A driver, Mr Kojo Addai, said “When I fill my fuel tank, I’m not able to work with it the whole day. I have to buy fuel about twice before I can convey passengers to their destinations. The traffic alone consumes a larger portion of fuel and is not easy, something must be done about this situation”.

In an interview with the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Martin Ayih, Commanding Officer of the Accra Central Motor Traffic and Transport Department said traffic jams were expected due to the non-expansion of roads and non-functioning of traffic lights.

He said that “our transport systems is bad because if it was efficient, people would have packed their cars somewhere and used the commercial cars because they are affordable, the case would continue to be worst since roads are not being developed or widened ”.

“I urge Government to offer more support for our transport system and in collaboration with the police and the car owners, there should demarcations on the roads to help manage traffic congestion on the roads.”