TUBMANBURG, September 3 (LINA) - Passengers commuting between Monrovia and Tubmanburg, Bomi County have complained that commercial drivers are arbitrarily hiking transport fares daily.
Speaking in an interview with the Liberia News Agency Tuesday in Tubmanburg, a passenger, Mr. Alphonso Folley, said since the outbreak of the Ebola disease, commercial drivers have been arbitrarily hiking transport fares.
He said commuters traveling from Monrovia to Tubmanburg now pay between L$350 and L$400.00, instead of the L$200 paid before the outbreak.
Mr. Folley said despite the reduction of the prices of fuel and gasoline, commercial drivers have continued to hike transport fares.
He noted that as a result, business people in the county have also increased the prices of goods, claiming that they pay high fare top transport their goods to Tubmanburg..
Mr. Folley is therefore calling for the intervention of the relevant government agencies to address this issue.
When contacted, the vice president of the Federation of Road Transport Unions of Liberia (FRTUL) Bomi County branch, Mr. Mohammed Fofana, confirmed the hike of transport fares by commercial drivers.
Mr. Fofana, however, attributed the hike to the increase in the price of gasoline in the county and the reduction of passengers carried in vehicles.
He said despite the recent reduction of fuel prices by the government, dealers of the commodity in the county are selling a gallon of gasoline for L$400.
LINADPS/TSS/PTK