Getting around in the capital of Ghana can be challenging sometimes but one could also view a commute as a little road trip or adventure.
I have quite a tedious commute to work which in low traffic hours takes about half an hour while at other times can take up to two hours. From my home I walk to the Okpongolo (the name of the area I live in- I still can’t say it right!) junction where I have to battle for a tro tro to get to “37”, a major station where many tro tros and taxis depart from in various directions. This leg of the trip cost me 35 pesewas. From there I usually take a shared taxi to Osu, which costs 80 pesewas. I utilize the shared taxi system where people fill up taxis to cut down on cost and provide an alternative to the tro tros which fill up quickly at certain times of the day. At some spots you can get into taxis which are designated to go to certain destination while at bus stops either a person stops a taxi or they come and shout a destination and see if people would like to fill their car. At some stops there are guys who are hustling to help taxi drivers or tro tros fill their vehicles and in exchange they get a few pesewas from the driver. You can see these guys standing at the bus stop in this picture:
People find ways to make money here, whether it’s providing a service for someone else (such as the ‘taxi fillers’, windshield washers, or the men who want to help you with your bags at the airport) or selling something on the street which was purchased at a cheaper price elsewhere.
You can buy anything on the streets of Accra:
water, masks, chocolate, fruit, yogurt, toilet paper, tissues (used to wipe away sweat), adapters, lamps, maps… and the list goes on! Here is a guy who sells sunglasses:
One of the first things Dr. Gilbert pointed out to us was how people and vehicles intermingle. At most big stoplights you have a group of people who start walking through the cars to sell things or to beg and when the cars begin to move they head back to the front of the line, sometimes they just stay between lanes to wait for the next group of potential customers.
Most people are amateur mechanics since many of the cars break down quite frequently. It’s common to have to maneuver around a broke down car or truck which has posted up a warning sign behind its temporarily immobile vehicle. (Other things you can buy on the streets: warning signs, fire extinguishers, windshield wipers) We have also seen a few tro tros being pushed by its passengers. One of my tro tros broke down the other day. When his happens the mate goes with his riders to the new tro tros and gives the new mate their fare so they don’t have to pay again.
There are many accidents on the roads (mostly on the longer stretches of road in rural areas where people drive faster) and enforcement of traffic laws is minimal, especially since most officers who catch someone breaking a law would prefer a bribe.
Back to taxis: when trying to get a shared taxi, I wait for others to make the first move because If I were to approach a taxi it would be assumed that I want to take the taxi for myself and the price would more than likely jump to an “Obroni price.” We have a system with friends wherein we stand at a distance, or hide, while they get a taxi and negotiate a price for a ride. Once the price is set we jump in the taxi. Often the taxi drivers scoff or roll their head when they realize we are joining the ride because the price probably would have been higher. This is only one example which highlights the bartering culture here in Ghana. (I often find myself saying “How much? Not Obroni prices though!”)
Taxis honk at us all the time to let us know they can take us. Honks can mean a variety of things: this taxi is available, get out of my way, go ahead, you don’t know how to drive, and I’m here/come out. There is a lot of honking since the way people drive here is crazy!
Taking the tro tro doesn't bother me at all; it’s the process of actually getting one during busy times which frustrates me. I have spent much of my commuting time waiting for a tro tro which isn’t full or a taxi to share. I have learned to be more aggressive in designating my spot on a tro tro. One day I was in a huddle of people who wanted to get on a tro tro and I allowed a pregnant woman to cut in front of me and dangit if she didn’t get the last seat on the tro tro. The mate told me it was full and patted my shoulder to say “good try.” The lesson that day was that ya just gotta cut in front of the pregnant woman, elderly man and child in order to secure a ride home or you could be waiting all day! Sometimes I don’t realize which tro tro I should be fighting to get on until it’s too late. As you can see in this video the ‘mate’ or conductor as we joking call them, hangs out of the window to shout a destination, in this case Accra. Hand signals are also used to signify direction or destination. The way they shout things is often unclear if you don’t know the destination, for example “circle” (which is a huge station from where you can go anywhere) turns into “circ” yelled quickly multiple times.
The streets of Accra reflect the country's culture and ongoing economic development. They show how advanced the country is in some ways while still developing in others. The road is shared by used and new cars, taxis (with orange parts of the car), tro tros, tractors and old clunkers which often spit out an awful exhaust leaving the city with a constant cloud of smog over it.
In the beginning, I was puzzled why George always wants a ‘nice’ taxi (I still believe this has to do with George’s love for air conditioning- which I once had to pay 3 extra cedis for because of his shady negotiating with the driver!) but have now seen the benefit of having a car that is less likely to break down on route to your destination.
Here are some more images from the streets:
Overloaded truck
Pictures taken by Lindsay:
The ‘public transportation’ and horribly congested traffic can get me down some days while other days I have a funny experience or entertaining encounter in a shared taxi which lifts the spirits and reminds me of how happy I am to be here in this vibrant country!
