STC's fortunes to change

TWO months after the Transport Minister’s visit to the Intercity STC Coaches Limited brought to public attention the debt-ridden nature of the company, Maxwell Adombila Akalaare looks at how the company is now surviving in these challenges.

The fortunes of Intercity STC are set to drastically transform in the coming months with the release of 10 additional buses to the company to augment its fleet.
The buses  have come at a time when the existing fleet seldom make it to their destinations, thereby getting passangers stranded on many occassion.
With the competition in the sector getting heated by the day from competitors such as VIP and M-Plaza, STC, the icon of the sector has almost lost its lead as far as the market share is concerned.
The company has survived till date in spite of the huge debt overlay because of the trust and royalty many continue to have in the company. 
The Marketing and Business Development Manager of the Intercity STC Coaches Limited, Gabriella D. Tetteh is confident that the company’s operations would soon stabilise following the loaning of 10  48-seater Yotoug buses to it by the J A Plant Pool, sole distributors of the brand in Ghana.
“We are gradually getting  back our patronage,” she said, adding that the  10 buses had been en-routed to long distance journeys and to Ouagadougou and Abidjan routes.
Ms Tetteh said though the current season does not favour transport patronage due to the lack of festivities and school vacations,  patronage of the company’s buses were gradually picking up especially when compared with the previous months.
“Our Bolga-Wa and Tamale services which are using the new buses are now recording 100 per cent,  up from the initial 88 to 95 per cent patronage recorded some months ago,” she said.
Frequent break downs of vehicles, late departures and other operational difficulties  are some of the major challenges confronting the company.   In years past, STC was a preferred public transport system  and earned the reputation of providing safe, reliable and timely transport to both its local and foreign passengers.
According  to the Business and Development Manager, the compamy had realised its challenges and was now working to improve on them.
She mentioned that the STC’s break down records were “now insignificant following the coming in of the 10 Odehye buses from J A Plant Pool.”
 She further disclosed that the company was  yet to take delivery of another 10 buses from the Metro Mass Transport Limited, another passenger transport company in the country.