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.