Tro-tros are vehicles used as public transportation. They generally consist of a driver and a type of manager, who opens and closes the door and calls out what the upcoming stop will be. They transport over twenty people at one time, and effectively take them where they need to go. Our tro-tro, which we affectionately named “the magic school bus”, was somewhat of a unique experience. It was yellow and had some mechanical difficulties. Akufo, the “doorman” was usually successful in getting the door closed on the fourth or fifth time.
This brings up the question of safety and the transportation system of Ghana. Firstly, as we fuelled up at the gas station, the engine was left running, as it was easier to leave the engine running than to risk the vehicle not starting. The tro-tro had difficulty starting many of times. Occasionally it was parked on a hill to increase its chances of starting.
When we were at Big Milly’s at Kokrobite, it took more than 3 times to start. It would not have been too embarrassing, but there were many people sitting at the bar watching. It was quite a humorous situation!
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| This is our "Magic School Bus". |
Secondly, the roads in Ghana can leave you in a bumpy situation. Many roads are paved, but there are numerous potholes that must be avoided; compared to Canada, they are pretty bad (I would say worse than streets with really bad potholes). It's amazing some of the vehicles on the road are allowed to drive- I don't know if they pass inspections- but some are pretty run down. Although the nation drives on the right hand side of the road (like in Canada), it is usually a bumpy trip down “whichever side appears to be smoother”.
While driving, the rules appear to be this: don’t get in an accident. Vehicles (even large buses) will pass going up a hill or around a blind corner. I also observed drivers passing on the shoulder, passing on a solid line and other infractions. Our driver would even remove his seatbelt, and then put it back on a short time later. No one slows down for anything. I have also noticed the same rules for honking. You honk your horn if you are passing, if you are not stopping, if you want the pedestrian to cross the street, if you want the pedestrian to remain on the curb, if you want to say hi or if you have no reason in particular and just like the sound of the horn. I was amazed that there were not any more accidents. There were also no seatbelts in the tro-tro…. But all in all it was a wonderful experience!
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| This was the tro-tro we took one night, as the yellow one was in need of some repair. |