There is no trace of revenue accruing from 60 Aayalolo buses that were transferred to Kumasi since 2018, a preliminary probe into the operations of the buses has revealed.The initial investigations into the operations of the Aayalolo buses over the past eight years also revealed improper accountability and an operational plan for the buses, leading to the grounding of 44 of the fleet.Subsequently, an independent audit has been commissioned by the Managing Director of the Greater Accra Passenger Transport Executive (GAPTE), Awudu Dawuda, to establish the circumstances under which the 60 buses were sent to Kumasi, how the buses were operated, and the revenue that accrued from the operation of the buses.The audit, scheduled to be completed within a month, followed the discovery that since 2018, when the buses were relocated to Kumasi, no revenue had been lodged into the GAPTE account.AuditIn an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic last Friday, Mr Awudu said the audit formed part of GAPTE’s major transformation agenda meant to recover all assets, revamp the bus rapid transport (BRT) system to enhance urban mobility.He explained that upon taking office six months ago, it came to light that 60 of the 245 Aayalolo buses that were procured for operation within designated road corridors in the Greater Accra Region had been taken to Kumasi, while 10 others were also taken to Takoradi in the Western Region.Mr Awudu said an initial probe into the management of the buses in Kumasi showed that since 2018, there had been no revenue accruing to GAPTE, the entity with oversight responsibility for the management of the Aayalolo buses.“The problem is that ever since the buses were taken to Kumasi in 2018, not even a single pesewa was received as revenue to GAPTE; there was no proper plan for these buses – they were sent there without recourse to law, and revenues never came to GAPTE since 2018.He explained that initial findings showed that the buses had been given to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to manage in 2018, while GAPTE engineers mostly repaired the buses in Kumasi, with the cost of the services being borne by the Council.“The audit team will establish the circumstances under which the buses got to Kumasi: who received them; how revenues were managed; and the circumstances under which six of the buses got burnt,” he said.He explained that with the support of the Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, GAPTE had been able to take over the management of the remaining 54 buses in Kumasi, while the process had begun to take over the 10 buses in the Western Region.The GAPTE boss added that upon taking control of the 54 buses, it was discovered that just 16 of them were functional while the rest were grounded.“Since we started operating those 16 buses two weeks ago, we are getting very good revenue; so, we are taking steps to fix the other buses and put them to use,” he said.Collapsed systemMr Awudu said the situation with the management of the buses in Kumasi was symptomatic of a collapsed system that the current GAPTE management came to meet.For instance, he said out of the 245 BRT buses that were procured by the government in 2016, only 80 of them were functional, with most of the buses grounded due to poor maintenance culture.Again, he said some facilities and terminals of GAPTE were under serious encroachment, especially the terminals at Kasoa, Adenta, Kinbu, and Achimota.He also said from 2018 to date, GAPTE had been wallowing in a huge debt owed from the purchase of fuel.ProgressMr Awudu said as part of the transformation agenda of the government, GAPTE had started reclaiming all encroached properties and refurbishing broken-down buses for optimal operations. “When I came to office, there were 80 functional buses, but we have repaired and added 60 more buses, taking the current functional fleet to 140 buses, and these buses now operate beyond the 5 p.m. closing time to around 11 p.m.,” he said.He also said all the bus terminals that had been encroached upon had been recovered and were currently under the total management of GAPTE.Additionally, he said GAPTE had established a visiting area for passengers at the Kinbu terminal to facilitate its operations.“We have also renovated the depot or workshop at Achimota for all our buses.All our broken-down buses are repaired at that facility, and we also do routine maintenance there,” he addedUrban traffic managementMr Awudu added that as part of efforts to efficiently manage traffic and decongest the city, GAPTE was putting in place measures to return to the use of dedicated lanes for the Aayalolo buses.“We approached the Spanish government for funding support to get the dedicated lanes back in use, and we have the green light for a €1 million grant that will be put into a feasibility study for the operation of the dedicated lanes,” he said.He explained that while waiting for that grant, GAPTE was collaborating with the Mayor of Accra and the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Religious Affairs to start using the dedicated BRT lanes.“Very soon, the Aayalolo buses will start operating on the dedicated lanes. The letters have been sent out already, and we will meet the Motor Traffic and Transport Division (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service to start enforcement,” he said.