The Sierra Leone Public Transport Authority (SLPTA) convened a high-level consultative meeting with transport stakeholders at its office on Wallace Johnson Street, Bus Station. The meeting was held on 5th December 2025 and brought together transport operators, NGOs, unions, journalists, and CSOs.
The purpose of the gathering was to discuss two important regulations drafted by SLPTA to regulate the transport sector. These regulations are: The Public Transport Tariffs and Fares Regulations 2025 and the Public Transport Licensing Regulations 2025.
Addressing the audience, the Director General of SLPTA, Issac Ken-Greene, welcomed the stakeholders present and thanked them for adjusting their busy schedules to attend the meeting at short notice. He stated that the public transport sector had been the only sector lacking a regulatory authority, which was why, on 24th April 2023, Parliament enacted the Sierra Leone Public Transport Authority Act 2023, establishing the body to regulate public transport. “For too long, we have seen sectors like the Media, Telecommunications, and Aviation with a regulatory body to oversee their affairs, but the public transport sector has been left to regulate itself. Passing that Act in 2023 was timely and transformational. It is intended to shape public transport to international standards, and Sierra Leone will soon experience the transformation,” he assured.
In presenting the two regulations for public scrutiny and input, the Deputy Director General of SLPTA, Christian Ngombu Esq., underscored that the meeting was convened to share the draft regulations with stakeholders for their feedback before they are taken to Parliament for approval. He emphasized that the regulations are essential for the smooth implementation of the SLPTA Act of 2023. He informed the audience that these regulations aim to establish a standard procedure to regulate public transport using technological tools, enhancing the work of operators and protecting passengers from extortion.
Speaking on the Tariffs and Fares Regulations, Ngombu Esq. stated that “the regulations aim to promote affordability, cost-reflectiveness, service quality, predictability, transparency, and financial sustainability of Sierra Leone’s public transport system. The regulations are designed to ensure that fares remain fair to passengers while allowing operators to cover reasonable costs and reinvest in service improvement.”
Furthermore, Ngombu Esq. explained that the regulations only cover road-based transport services, including buses, minibuses, taxis, tricycles, and motorcycles. The regulations do not apply to air and maritime transport services.
One major highlight of the proposed regulations is the social protection scheme. The drafted regulations propose concessionary fares for particularly vulnerable groups such as students, the elderly, and persons with disabilities. More appealing is that these concessions are compensated by a government scheme through which operators can make a claim and receive up to 50%.
Explaining the Licensing Regulations, Christian Ngombu Esq. emphasized that these regulations will establish a regulatory framework for passenger road transport activities to achieve efficient, effective, sustainable, and orderly development and operation of public transport services in Sierra Leone. The licensing framework between SLPTA and transport operators will regulate the type and classification of vehicles and tricycles suitable for public transport.
Stakeholders present at the meeting provided meaningful contributions to the discussion. Some expressed gratitude to SLPTA for the consultation, while others called for more outreach to transport owners and operators before the regulations are taken to Parliament for approval.