TROTRO TRANSPORT SYSTEM

Transportation is any system of taking people or goods from one place to another. Transportation in the past is not the same as the present. Horses, donkeys, camels were used then carriages and coach and it has evolved over the years.

Transportation is central to people’s lives, because it makes movement from one place to the other easier.

In Ghana, there are varieties of ways in which people can use to move people from one place to another. Each of the transportation system has it pros and cons.

Each article will reveal the different forms of transportation; “trotro” (mini vans), Buses (metro mass), taxis, and privates cars, and the “okada” motor bikes). To begin with is the “trotro.

The most important way of transportation in Ghana is the Tro-Tro,   Tro-Tro is every vehicle that is bigger than a normal car and smaller than a bus.

The name Trotro originated from a Ga word “Tro” which means three pence (pence being the penny coins used during Ghana’s colonial days). In the colonial days, the mass transit vehicle charged passengers three pence per trip, and thus was referred to as "tro-tros," and the name has stuck ever since.

 Tro-tros are as common on Ghanaian roads as potholes. These minivans provide a vital public service by transporting up to twenty passengers around the city and countryside.

It reflects the religiosity of Ghanaians. Many of them carry spiritual messages: "Come to Jesus," "Have you prayed today?" I've even seen "God's Tro-tro" grace the streets of Accra, as if its sole duty were to spread the word of God.

 Tro-tros are privately owned and operated: run by the people for the people. Reaching your destination is like crossing the finish line in a race.

Though its affordable and easily accessible, trotro is a slow moving vehicle, not that it can’t move fast, but it driver and mate will make sure they fill up every seat and they do this by stopping at every point to pick passengers and sometimes do not even care if its full or not. This makes it travelling very difficult, uncomfortable and time consuming.

It’s sometimes too unhygienic to travel by this vehicle. This is because of the foul smell that emanates from the armpits of the conductors (mates) and some passengers.

trotro transport system

               OKADA TRANSPORT SYSTEM
 

Okada is a commercial motor bike Okada used as a vehicle for hire in Nigeria. The name was borrowed from Okada Air, a Nigerian local airline, now defunct.  

It is also commonly used in many West African countries, including Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Liberia and Sierra Leone and currently this system has been unofficially added to the Ghana transportation system. Though it has not been approved legally due to safety reasons, it is highly patronized by most Ghanaians.

Okada (motor bike) is a very fast mode of transportation, this is because it does not follow the high traffic system like some of the transportation systems do. Talk of its accessibility, Okada is not easily accessible unlike the taxis and trotros which can be boarded anywhere even and anytime, Okada can only be boarded at their ranks. That is where they mostly park and wait for their passengers. This is because it is not legalized in the country and those who operate it do it illegally, therefore they cannot expose themselves openly rather they stand at vantage points and wait for their passengers.

The maximum number of passengers an Okada will take is two with the rider making it three.

Though they are fast to travel with, they are very expensive and also risky due to the inability of the okada riders to provide helmets for their passengers.

Despite effort by the police to clamp down the Okada business, it is obvious that motorbikes used for commercial purposes have become a booming venture which is gradually engulfing the Accra metropolis and other regions.

TAXI TRANSPORT SYSTEM

TAXIS

Taxi is a form of transportation system use by most Ghanaians. Taxi is probably the best way to travel in the city. They are abundant in the cities and towns and come in different types, some are metered and registered (thus easy to trace) others are not. The registered ones have fixed prices, but with the others, prices have to be negotiated. The distinctive Ghana taxis with yellow painted mudguards are in plenty and run a shared and hire service. The passenger [shared] service picks and drops passengers along a particular route and the hired service [charter/dropping], which any taxis would usually oblige, picks only one passenger and takes them directly to their destination. You must however determine what you pay before embarking on your journey. Different rates apply for different trips. Taxis are usually boarded at a taxi rank with mostly a sign on top of the car stating the area where the taxi will take. It can also be boarded at the road side. They are usually shared by 4 passengers. Taxis are very expensive to travel by as compare to TROTRO.

The problems  associated with this transportation system is the rude nature of some drivers and sometimes some drivers are so selfish that they take more passengers than normal number and this makes passengers uncomfortable and also sometimes the pressure from the weight of the passengers can cause accident.