A leading research and public policy think tank, CUTS International Accra, has called on the government to establish an Accra City Transportation Authority to regulate, plan, and coordinate transportation across the capital.

The call follows worsening commuter hardship, rush-hour congestion, and weak coordination arising from the fragmentation of the former Accra Metropolitan Assembly into multiple municipal and sub-metropolitan assemblies.

In a statement issued in Accra on Monday, CUTS noted that although Accra continues to function as a single city, it is now governed by more than 20 assemblies operating independently. Roads, drainage systems, housing developments, and transport corridors cut across several jurisdictions, creating a mismatch between how the city functions and how it is governed.

This mismatch, CUTS emphasised, has weakened planning, reduced accountability, and made effective transportation management difficult.

“You cannot run a single city with multiple transport decision centres working in isolation,” said Appiah Kusi Adomako, Director of the West Africa Regional Centre of CUTS International. “Urban movement does not respect political boundaries. Planning must follow how people live and commute.”

Between 1989 and 2017, Accra expanded from one assembly to about 24. CUTS stressed that decentralisation itself is not the problem. Rather, the failure to establish a city-wide transport authority after the fragmentation has left transportation policy operating in silos, even though most residents commute daily toward one central business district.

“The creation of multiple assemblies was not a mistake,” Mr Adomako said. “The mistake was failing to build a city-level transport authority to coordinate planning.”

CUTS traced the current crisis to years of weak policy direction.

The Omnibus Service Authority once provided predictable urban transport in the 1970s, but its collapse left a vacuum. Metro Mass Transit, introduced in 2001, shifted focus from intra-city services to long-haul travel.

The Ayalolo bus system, launched in 2015, initially raised hope but suffered setbacks after buses were diverted to other cities and institutional use.

Today, commuters struggle to find transport after work, while some private operators split journeys into segments and charge multiple fares.

CUTS also linked the crisis to weak enforcement of the Road Traffic Regulation 2012 (LI 2180), which requires route-based licensing with clear service standards.

 Instead, assemblies issue broad permits, allowing drivers to concentrate on high-profit corridors while underserved routes are neglected.

The government has announced plans to procure over 350 buses for Metro Mass Transit. CUTS welcomed the move but warned that buses alone will not solve the problem.

“Without policy reform, coordination, and strong institutions, the same crisis will return,” Mr Adomako said.

CUTS is therefore calling for a legally empowered Accra City Transportation Authority, strict enforcement of route-based licensing, sustained investment in public transport infrastructure, and stronger enforcement capacity across the metropolitan area.

“Accra does not suffer from a shortage of buses,” Mr Adomako concluded. “It suffers from a shortage of planning, coordination, and political commitment.”