Intercity STC Coaches Limited stands as Ghana’s premier transportation company, dedicated to providing safe, reliable, and efficient travel solutions throughout the country and beyond. The company specializes in long-distance bus services, connecting major cities and towns in Ghana, and also offers cross-border travel to neighboring countries such as Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, and Burkina Faso.
Safety is a top priority for Intercity STC. The company adheres to strict maintenance schedules for its vehicles, employs highly trained and experienced drivers, and follows rigorous safety protocols to guarantee passenger security. Beyond passenger transport, Intercity STC also offers parcel delivery services, providing fast and reliable logistics solutions for individuals and businesses. With a commitment to customer satisfaction, Intercity STC operates convenient ticketing options, including online booking platforms, making travel planning seamless and hassle-free.
The Early Years: From Government Department to Corporation
The origins of STC date back to 1909 when it began as the Government Transport Department, serving the transportation needs of the central government. The idea of setting up a national bus carrier goes as far back as 1909. The Government Transport Department was a governmental entity set up and tasked to look transportation solutions for the then Central Government which was the British colonial administration.
During the early stages of British colonial rule, the main mode of transport involved the use of human labor to transport stores for the colonial administration by head load. In the absence of motor vehicles, our ancestors carried expatriate government officials around in hammocks. In September 1901, the colonial British Administration, recognizing the need for a state transport organization, set up the Government Transport Department (GTD) to supply labor and human carriers for transporting supplies for both the colonial administration and for the mines. We learn from the archives that the Government Transport Department in its very first year of operations recruited 4,800 load carriers and laborers, handled a total of 16,000 loads and made a handsome profit of £1,295.
It was not long before the Government Transport Department realized that the profits were rolling in at considerable human cost. "With constant walking for a 12-month period averaging over 400 miles a month; a large number of carriers became incapacitated from sore feet", according to archival records. The department hit upon a solution: why tar the roads when you can tar the soles of the feet of the human carriers? The results were said to have been favorable. The tar filled the cracks on the feet of our ancestors, served as an antiseptic and provided protection from cracks if thickly applied.
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The GTD was transferred to the Public Works Department in 1922. Motor vehicles were imported to replace human carriers. Apart from the head office in Accra, located then at the present Limb Fitting Centre, the department opened depots and workshops in Accra, Takoradi, Kumasi and Tamale and sub-depots at Ho, Wa, Navrongo, Bolgatanga and Yeji.
Following tremendous increases in the activities of the Government Transport Department in the 1950s and 1960s, the government provided a grant of 800,000 Ghana pounds for the development and expansion of the department. Goods depots and workshops were constructed in most regional capitals. The three-storey headquarters of the company at Kaneshie in Accra was constructed at a cost of 205,000 Ghana pounds and commissioned in August 1964.
On March 9, 1965, a legislative instrument was enacted and this body was mandated to manage commercial transportation services in Ghana. In 1965, it was established as a corporate entity under Legislative Instrument (L.I) number 414, named the State Transport Corporation, to manage commercial passenger services. The State Transport Corporation was incorporated by Legislative Instrument in March 1965 and commenced operation in January 1966. A haulage division was set up somewhere in 1968 and handed over to the STC to manage in addition to the passenger segment which they were already handling.
In the year 1995 Intercity STC then State Transport became fully incorporated in Ghana to manage the state's transportation.
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Modernization and Expansion
Yet another landmark chapter in the history of the nation’s premier state-owned transport company, the Intercity STC Company, was written when President John Mahama commissioned 50 brand-new 44-seater and 50-seater Scania Marcopolo buses for the company.
STC collaborates with various stakeholders, including government agencies, private sector partners, and international organizations, to enhance service delivery. Both companies have undergone significant reforms to improve efficiency and service delivery. STC, for instance, transitioned from a government department to a limited liability company, allowing for more operational flexibility.
Intercity STC plies mostly regional capitals in Ghana including, Kumasi, Sunyani, Takoradi, Cape Coast, Bolgatanga and some few major towns or district capitals like Paga, Dormaa Ahenkro and Tarkwa. It also operates International services to some major cities in neighboring countries like Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, Abidjan in Ivory Coast and Lomé in Togo.
Challenges and Opportunities
Once well respected and described as the pride of intercity travels in Ghana, it is currently a mere shadow of its former glory with rapid decline in passenger movements over the past years. This study sought to analyze passenger movements over the past five years and also explored challenges that have led to the steady decline of ISTC over the years. Findings of the study revealed that the service suffered a 60% decline in passenger movement between 2007 and 2011; however there was a high utilization of its services in January 2010 and December 2011. Finally, there was no statistically significant difference in the volume of passengers between 2010 and 2011.
Increased investment in Ghana and growth in the country’s tourism industry will produce large volumes of passengers and goods in coming years. The new fleet of buses should also equip the STC to recapture a sizeable share of the tourist market in the next few years. The STC has to its advantage, a track record of maximum road safety due to continuing programs of training and retraining for staff. There is also the advantage of more than a century of relationships with clients and communities across the country.
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With its new fleet, the STC should be able to raise the market share of the organization significantly and attain increased profitability from a previous status of loss-making and diminished profits in the next few years.
The Future of Intercity STC
STC aims to be the leader in the road transport industry in Ghana and the ECOWAS sub-region, consistently and profitably. The sustainability of State Transport Company Ghana would depend on its ability to adapt to changing market conditions, maintain financial stability, embrace technological advancements, and implement environmentally friendly practices. The study recommends the adoption of a well-rounded set of metrics that encompasses economic, social, and environmental dimensions to accurately evaluate the impact of transport operations.
Today, some of the largest concentrations of tourists, business people and public officials waiting to travel on any day in Ghana are usually found at STC terminals and zonal depots across the country. Though there are local and foreign business people who fly out of Accra to Kumasi, Takoradi, Tamale and other regional capitals daily on small planes operated by local airlines, many still prefer traveling by STC buses in order to see the countryside and Ghanaian towns and cities along STC routes. North bound travelers get a memorable view of the changes from coastal Savannah through the country’s forest and ecological transitional zones, to the sparse woods and scattered shrubs of the northern Savannah.
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