About Accra trotro in the capital of Ghana
Accra trotro bus transport services in the city ply all major roads in the capital of Ghana. They are found parked at their designated terminals where they wait for longer periods for passengers to board or at street sides during stops along a route. These buses are owned by the drivers or belong to transport investors. The coaches have an average seating capacity of 14 passengers. Accra trotro buses mainly belong to Unions and the most prominent amongst them are the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Ghana Co-operative Transport Association (GCTA) and Progressive Transport Owners Association (PROTOA).
Bus routes
Aside driver and owner welfare, these Unions provide various administrative and operational services for their membership. The auto transport companies act as the liaison between the government and the individual members. Trotro buses provide both Long haul and short trip commuters in the city. They are typically filled up in the early mornings and evenings and then thinned out in the afternoons. The buses are concentrated on routes leading to residential, industrial, and commercial, office and educational areas in the capital of Ghana which locations provide the bulk of the transport services.
Fares
Trotro buses in Accra provide cheap road transport for about 70% of its population. The fare for a ride is about half of that of a taxi. It therefore allows for the convenience of low-earning commuters who would need to make routine trips throughout the year. People new to the city as well as tourists also use this cheap car transport to explore Accra to get to know what the city offers or how it looks like. Passengers are encouraged to keep change on them all the time especially in the early mornings when the days operations have just began. Advance fare payments are not available.
Services
Accra trotro bus routes follow municipal transport lines but gravitate towards dense and low income neighborhoods. All suburbs have trotro services except a few upscale enclaves where the operators find it uneconomical to ply. Accra commuter stops are concentrated in the south and east sections of the city and dwindle in the north and west. Trips exceeding 10 kilometers are usually serviced by coaches which make fewer stops once they depart from the stations. Bus fares are paid during boarding and leaves when full – not by schedule.
Bus stops
Bus stops for these vehicles are designated all over the city. They can be complete shelters with seating or improvised locations at street sides. In some cases, there would be no structures at all but just a section of the street or curb. These points cannot hold a lot of commuters at a time so people just stand overlap or across the area. As the driver approaches, the conductor announces the destination and bus stops through the side window. Upon stopping, passengers board and it continues its trip onwards. A passenger must pay attention to the frequent destination broadcast by the conductor if they are new on the trip. Each stop is mentioned in advanced.
Schedules
Trotro buses do not operate according to any schedule. They take off from their terminals or stops only when they are fully laden or the driver voluntarily decides to take off. For this reason, you cannot be late or too early to a station. The practice makes the system very flexible for people who may not have a fixed routine. If a commuter arrives early, they get the same service as been late. The buses keep rotating with boarding till passenger traffic dwindle or they close.