The Gambia Transport Service Company (GTSC)
yesterday launched 15 new Ashok Leyland buses, at a ceremony held at the
company’s depot in Kanifing.
Speaking at the launching ceremony, the acting
General Manager of GTSC, Habib Drammeh, said the role GTSC had been playing in
national development could not be overemphasised.
“There is no economy that can be sustained without
transportation,” he said.
He said transportation is like the artery through
which blood flows and, therefore, is the artery to which people move from one
place to another.
He thanked the management of Social Security and
Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC) and GTSC for their tireless effort towards
the “laudable” venture, adding that GTSC aims to become the leading road
transport company in the sub-region.
Mr Drammeh disclosed that they would also venture
into river transportation, “because it is a very important sector in terms of
transportation of goods and services.”
Also speaking at the launching ceremony was the
GTSC Board Chairman, Edward Graham, who said three years ago the depot was
“like a scrap yard where people go get scraps and electrical wires and to
cannibalize old vehicles.”
He also said three years ago, when people want to
travel from Brikama to Banjul they used to pay fares three times, which was
difficulty for business, and that always impacted negatively on economic
growth. But now with GTSC everything was different, he added.
“Transportation is key to any economic development,
and in three years of operations this company has employed over 400 Gambians
and it has facilitated the movement of goods, people and factors of production
across the country.”
This, he added, had impacted positively on the
nation, and the socio- economic development of the country had improved because
of “improvement in the transportation system”.
It had also revived petty businesses along the line, he continued
The company’s aim is to become the leading road
transportation system in the sub-region, adding that there are bound to be
tough challenges, but challenges could be met depending on the planning and
strategies to be used to overcome them.
Zakariah Sowe, head of Traffic Operations, also
indicated that the main objective of GTSC is to ensure that the travel needs of
its customers are met in the most affordable and convenient manner.
He added that the company would continue to expand
its services to meet the needs and requirements of its prestige customers.
The buses are fitted with modern facilities, and
“these ones are specifically designed for the Gambian market, local climatic
condition, social norms and technical specifications,” required for the
sub-region.
The company had also launched a hotline number: 2366703 to answer customers’ enquiries twenty-four hours a day.
