Kumasi, May 20, GNA - The Metro Mass Transit (MMT) Company, operators of the high occupancy buses in big cities and towns throughout the country, is operating at a loss due to low fares it is charging its customers.

The company incurred a loss of 3.5 billion cedis in 2004, Mr Kojo Manfull, consultant to the company, told journalists in Kumasi on Friday.

Mr Manfull said even though it was not sustainable for the company to continue to run at a loss, its fares would always be below those of its competitors.

He did not state any immediate plans by the company to increase its fares but said steps are being taken to improve the income and fortunes of the company.

Mr Manfull denied that the company was not paying any withholding tax to the state.

He, however, said the company had not been able to pay its corporate tax since its incorporation in 2003 as a result of the losses it is incurring.

Mr Van Eerden, the Managing Director, said the company hoped to increase its fleet of buses to 1,000 very soon.

He said 100 DAF buses, which the company acquired at the cost of 14 million Euros, were being assembled in the country and that 10 of them would be on the road by July.

''It is the vision of the company to increase the number of the shuttle and the intra-city buses services to ensure that they are available on the routes in every 15 to 30 minutes.'' He appealed to the public to report drivers and conductors who misconduct themselves and advised the public to desist from forcing their way into the buses when they are full.