MY TROTRO BUS EXPERIENCES

This might sound a bit over the top but I really have so many bus experiences that I can actually write a book on them all.
Majority of these experiences are funny and quite incredible, while others are so annoying and uncalled for. Please note that these stories are based on my personal experiences, while living in Accra, Ghana. I am sure some other Ghanaians can also share in some of my ordeals and might want to make one or more comments. So please feel free to let me know your thoughts.

Let me start by saying that I have enjoyed most of my trotro rides but this ride I am writing about is exceptional. On this fateful day, I had to go to School. I was already extremely late, as I had a test in about an hour to write. Trust those drivers of Trotro buses, they can wait till eternity just to make sure their buses fill up. I was already speaking in tongues, interceding seriously, praying that passengers come, as time was seriously becoming an enemy. Finally, they began to trickle in. The "mate", brash and harsh as usual, started shouting "Circle, Circle,". His bloodshot eye combined with his marijuana cultured voice was so dreadful that I had to cooperate. Finally the bus was full. We were packed like sardines. The woman by my left hand side was breast feeding a baby. It was like she was harassing the baby with the breast, I didn't realize that I was starring at her, until she turned and looked at me. That was an embarrassing moment. Immediately, I knew I was in for it. I knew I would definitely become the play ground of that child. I looked to my right hand side and smiled a bit, sitting beside me was a man of God. He was reading his bible and nodding his head. I regretted smiling later in the journey.

After all the wahala, the bus moved. Then this man of God by my right started- 'Brethren, let us pray'. His prayer was like a deliverance session. The man was blasting in tongues, casting and binding the spirit of accident, pleading the blood of Jesus on the tyres of the vehicle: Mehn, it was war. I knew I was in for it. This man preached non stop for 30 minutes. He painted the images of hell fire. He said if you wear jewelries, you will go to hell. If a female wears trousers, she will land in hell. Above all, this man was really stressing sudden death, especially through accident. He told everyone to pray against the spirit that wants to suck blood. This man preached with tenacity and vivacity, pouring me saliva in the process. Poor me, I couldn't do or say anything, as I had been told that 'touch not my anointed and do my prophet no harm. So I sat down there cleaning the drops of saliva as they dropped on my face like banana yoghurt. Everyone was seriously irritated, as he was shouting at the top of his voice. Telling as that we would all go to hell.

The journey proceeded to Circle with this man still firing gospel bullets, the driver decided to insult our ears the more. Well, maybe he was tired of hearing the gospel or he was just pissed off. The next thing we heard was a reggae song from the vehicle speakers. So we were assaulted with a cacophony of intelligible sounds. At last we got to Police Headquarters where I was suppose to alight. I was so relieved, at least I got 10minutes before my test starts. I was planning on taking a taxi to campus after I alight. Then the unthinkable happened. The driver passed Headquarters and kept on going. I started shouting and complaining, not knowing the brakes were bad and he was rather looking for how to stop that bus.
Still going, going ,going, the driver just swerved into a little market by the side of the road, crashing almost everything in his front till a big shop could stop our bus.

There we were hanging, titled to one side, after having destroyed shops and stalls. We were still angry, pouring curses on the driver, when somebody from outside shouted 'fire'...Oh boy ! See race, see as everybody jumped out of the vehicle. It was not a beautiful site, we trampled on each other, tore our clothes, injured ourselves..It was terrible.
The supposed fire came about as we hit a woman's big cooking pot of hot oil sitting on a coal pot. The smoke that filled the air was what prompted the fire alarm.
We were very lucky to escape without any incident. I managed to still get to school seconds before my  test started.
It was indeed a memorable journey..... My Trotro Experience.

CHALLENGES OF RUNNING A TROTRO BUSINESS AS A CAR OWNER

Trotros are privately owned vehicles which ply every route in the country. Though loosing flavour nowadays, this industry still performs well. The trotro business is a lucrative business but has alot of challenges. It was business of choice for many investors who wanted to try their hand in business.

The search for a trustworthy and experienced driver is one huge hurdle one has to surmount in this business. Some drivers are tricky and may run down your business if much attention is not paid to it. So therefore, the search for a good driver is off importance. One trick is that, trotro drivers work till about noon and call the owner that the car has broken down and need repairs. This implies that the little money the trotro driver made will be used to pay for repairs and therefore there will be no sales for the day.

Very Often, the owners get a call from their drivers that the car is involved in an accident. It is also normal for the owners to get a call that their driver is behind bus or has been detained or stand by him in a court for some violation of traffic rules.

I had a chat with Mr. Offei, who uses to own a trotro narrated his story : I use to own one, thank God I gave it out on time. From experience, only 30% of investors make anything out of this business, and it fails are : greedy drivers, greedy policemen. I then asked if the business is that bad, how come we have so many buses on the road, and he said "to succeed in this business, one must get a trustworthy driver. The driver must be a married man with children. He needs the income much more than you do, so if he misbehaviours and you withdraw the bus from him for a week, he will never mess up again.

Another person who was in the business also has this to say "I got frustrated after earnings sometiems dropped to 30GH a day. I loose huge amount amount of money to the police. To imagine that, people who never owned a trotro earned more than the owner. It was too much to take. After I finished servicing the loan from my financier, I sold it off says Aboagye.

BENEFITS OF RUNNING A 'TROTRO' BUSINESS AS A CAR OWNER

Every individual goes into a business with the motive of making profits. However, the nature of running a 'trotro' business may be a bit challenging. It takes an optimistic business man with lots of understanding to undertake such a business.

The owner often has little to do with the day to day affairs of the business. Some owners have multiple vehicles and can be considered some what of an unofficial 'trotro' company. The owner will employ a driver or several drivers who are certified. It is then up to the driver to find a conductor or a 'mate' who is in charge of collecting the fares from passengers and calling out for passengers.


The car owner instructs the drivers as to which route to ply in other to get better patronage and also make profit. In most cases, the car is registered under the bus terminal of that jurisdiction to ply a specific route. It is often at the station that the owner is informed of the fixed market sales that the type of bus can make in a day.

I had a chat with one Police officer who is into the 'trotro' business who confessed that 'trotro' business is one of the profitable transport investments that have escaped foreign investors for many years. He told a story about how he had seen this business opportunity and went for it. Back then, he was two steps below the rank he currently holds, meaning, he had more spare time to manage a side business and still provide service to the citizens of the country. He took a loan from the Bank and purchased an 18 seater bus. Five years later, he owned 8 of the 18 seater buses due to the much attention he paid to the business which has made him successful.

He has now been promoted to a higher rank which takes much of his time and has therefore hired a driver to manage the vehicles. He stressed on hiring a trust worthy person to manage the business because most drivers are cunning and may run down your business for you if attention is not paid to it. I went on further to ask him if he is encountering any loss or challenges, he said, sometimes he encounters difficulties but the profits and benefits outweigh the loss and he is very happy to have ventured such a business.
His story is one of many that have tried hand on the business and ripped the fruits.

WHO IS THE DRIVER AND 'MATE', AND WHAT ARE THEIR ROLES

This week's article will discuss who the driver and mate are, and their roles in the 'Trotro'.
'Trotro' vehicles are operated by two men, that is, a driver and a 'mate'. The 'Trotro' driver's job is to drive the bus safely to its destination. If the 'Trotro' breaks down on the road, the 'Trotro' driver's first priority is to determine if the passengers safety or security is at stake.

The driver will assess the problem which resulted in the breakdown of the vehicle and may call for help from passengers to deal with the problem. In most cases, passengers will alight and 'push' the car whiles the driver will sit at the steer and start the car.

The mate collects fares from passengers, shout out of the window to get hold of new passengers. He is also responsible for seating passengers and helping passengers with loads to get on board the vehicle. He uses certain hand signals to show the destination of the vehicle.

To earn a little money for his pocket, the mate sometimes sells his seat to passengers, but most often, passengers do not feel comfortable and therefore complain and accuse him of selling his seat position and rather choosing to sit on the metallic cover of the engine adjoining the front seat.. The fare from the seat becomes unaccounted for. It belongs to him and the driver cannot ask for it.

Some mates have a good sense of humour and normally crack jokes to entertain passengers whiles others may also engage in words exchange with the passengers and when there is tension, the driver may intervene.

SOME INSCRIPTIONS ON 'TROTRO'S' IN ACCRA

Having known the history and meaning of 'Trotro' in the first article which I published last week, let us now discuss the inscriptions on 'Trotro'. Do these inscriptions educate the public or they are written for fun ?

Most 'Trotros' in Accra have fascinating inscriptions that are written either on the rear view or the wind screen. These inscriptions are mostly written in Twi and in English language. Some give thanks, and others also express their thought on issues happening in the country. Some are funny, and some are motivational whiles others impacts wisdom and some too come from personal experience of the car owner or the 'Trotro' driver.

Some 'Trotro's' take the sole responsibility of spreading the work of God. They carry spiritual messages such as : "Judgement Day", "Repent"," He is coming". Others also have inscriptions which praise God for enabling them to buy a bus. some inscriptions include : "God is Good", "I am highly favoured", " In God We Trust". This shows that the car owner or the 'Trotro' driver is a christian and showing a testimony, faith and advice and an appeal to the unsaved to turn a new leaf.

There are also inscriptions which are very funny. I have come across a few of them which are :"dzi wo fie asem, because all die be die", abrokyire ye fucking, close your mouth.
The inscription "dzi wo fie asem, because all die be die" shows that the car owner or the 'Trotro' driver is expressing his thought on the election tension which happened in the country some months ago.

A story is being told to me by a friend about this guy who waited for hours trying to catch a 'Trotro' to his hometown, Ho. Finally a 'Trotro' approached from a distance with a front inscription 'HOPE', upon seeing it, the guy yelled to himself saying " ah wei de3 ek) Hop33".


Some also carry motivational and wisdom messages such as :"beware of friends,", all that glitters is not gold", "fear women and live long". "don't rush, take time". These inscriptions are educative and also and can be a comic relief to people.

"TROTRO"

Majority of Ghanaians do not own private cars and therefore rely on commercial vehicles, Trotro. Mostly school children, workers, rely on these vehicles to get to their destination. These Trotros work daily and without these vehicles , most Ghanaians would be stuck at home. This article will help us to know the meaning and history behind the name"Trotro" in Ghana.

The name "Trotro" originates from the Ga word "tro" meaning three pence which was the fare paid when on board the vehicle. Therefore the Ghanaian society ended up with the name "Trotro". This name has been in existence since Gold Coast and till today still exists. Trotro is a very common mode of transportation in Ghana. The wide availability and cheap cost make this mode of transportation unbeatable.

However the youth of this modern generation (21st century) having learnt some language lessons and being adapting to western culture have changed the name to "Troski" which they claim sounds modern. Trotros  are mini-vans in various states of repairs which have fold-down seats fitted in the gangways which can carry up to fifteen to sixteen people . They ply any route across the country you could possibly imagine.

One can catch Trotros at lorry stations or the side of the road. If one boards a Trotro at the station, the driver will usually wait until the van is full before he moves the van. This means people can wait for an hour or more and with the fear of loosing their seats, they do not get out of the bus. One of the delights of Trotro travel is shopping through the windows. Most at times at the stations, women and children sell items such as : ice cream, drinks, meat pie, oranges, "insu"( water).

Trotro drivers drive recklessly on the roads by dodging traffic and over taking other cars without considering the consequences of their actions on the passengers. They do all these to get ahead of other Trotro competitors on the road.
 In spite of all these, riding in a Trotro is fun and exciting and also saves cost because its inexpensive.