If You'd Rather Not Walk...

*car horn*
“Obruni, eroko ehen?”  White person, where are you going?
“Moroko Moree Junction.”  I’m going to Moree Junction.
“Bra!  Bra!”  Come! Come!

Getting around in Ghana is fun.  You can get pretty much go anywhere you like around town for under 2 cedi (equivalent to 1 USD).  You have three valid options for getting to where you need to go:  trotro, share taxi, dropping taxi.  Each has its own little quirks.

Trotro:  Trotros are big 10-15 passenger vans with a sliding door.  It’s the cheapest form of transportation and the most exciting.  Every trotro has a mate who is responsible for getting passengers, notifying the driver when to stop, collecting everyone’s fare, and quickly moving passengers in and out of the trotro.  The mate sits first row directly behind the passenger seat by the driver.  They keep their head out the window and call out the trotro’s route or do the hand signal.  If someone on the side of the road signals or calls to take the trotro, the mate bangs on the door to stop the driver.  The passenger is then hurried into the van and the process starts over.  To get from my house to town by trotro is 70 pesewas (35 cents).  Things get interesting when the trotro can’t stop where you are because the police are monitoring (and that part of the road is zoned for no stopping) so you have to run to keep up with the trotro and jump in when they feel they’re far enough from the police not to be caught.

Share Taxi:  Share taxis are a little more expensive than a trotro and generally much more straight forward and less stressful.  Share taxis are normal four passenger (five including the driver) cabs that drive a specific route and like a trotro, pick up passengers anywhere along the way.  The driver will put out his hand in a way that means, “Where are you going?  Do you want to take a car?”  To pick a car, you signal where you’re going and the driver will stop if he’s going to the same place.  Make sure you double check where the car is headed and if the car is empty, that the driver understands you want a share taxi and not dropping.  To take a share taxi from my house to town is 1 cedi (50 cents). 

Dropping Taxi:  If you’re nervous about one of those two, have a lot of cash on hand, in a hurry, and/or going someplace not on a trotro or taxi route, you can take a dropping taxi.  You signal you want a dropping taxi by repeatedly pointing at the ground in front of you.  If a cab is empty, the driver will stop and you begin negotiations.  You tell him where you’re going and ask him how much he’ll charge.  Around Cape Coast, you shouldn’t pay more than 5 cedis ($2.50).  If it’s obvious you are a foreigner, he’ll quote you something around 10 cedis.  Just laugh and tell him you’ll give him three and then settle on four or five.  Bargaining in Ghana isn’t contentious and you shouldn’t make it so.  From there it’s just like a normal taxi you’d take in the states.  They’ll take you exactly where you’re going and you pay them what you agreed.

That will get you around locally.  You can also take a trotro for long distance for pretty cheap.  From Cape Coast to Accra it’s 9 or 10 cedis ($5).  If you want to pay 13 cedis ($6.50) you can take a Ford car which is similar to a trotro, except a little roomier, in better condition, air conditioned and a bit faster.  They also always happen to be made by Ford.  You can also take the MMT (Metro Mass Transit) which is like a Greyhound bus.  I’ve never taken it, but I’ve generally heard positive things.

Driving in Ghana is something else altogether.  Speed limits are not taken seriously and if you know you can go faster than the car in front of you, you are welcome to drive in the other lane (keep in mind 90% of the roads in Ghana are two lanes, so you’re driving in the lane of oncoming traffic) and pass them.  Drivers brake fast and start faster.  People honk not to express annoyance or fear, but just to let everyone know that they’re there.  If you’re going around a blind corner or not sure if someone sees you as they are turning, just give your horn a tap.  Trotro and taxi drivers also honk to let you know they have room.  If you’re crossing the street and a car is coming, they’ll honk to let you know you should move or you’ll be smashed (because in Ghana, cars have the right of way). 

And that’s transportation for you.