Bus Station & Safety

Sitting at the bus station waiting for the next bus to depart.

The majority of people in Ghana travel use public transportation. Buses and trotros, which are vans converted into passenger vehicles, are the mode of transit for most people.  Taking long journeys or even short commutes out of town means getting in line at a bus station.  Some stations are very hectic like Circle or Madina.  With vehicles travelling to all parts of the country, you're sure to meet all kinds of people. 

Most people in Ghana don't travel for leisure, but to go to weddings, funerals or to visit family members. This photo was taken on a day I was setting off to a funeral about one hour outside of Greater Accra.  In Ghana, buses and vans don't depart until the vehicle is full.  If there are any seats empty, everyone is forced to sit and wait until it's filled.  This could mean waiting for over an hour.  On this particular occasion, I waited nearly 2 hours before we finally set off. 

In the meantime, I had interesting conversations with the men working at the station.  Of course, upon hearing my accent, they made their assumptions about me and where I am from.  My height as usual was a conversation piece.  The men assumed I was American and were speaking in Twi, not knowing I could understand.  It wasn't until I said something in Twi that they were taken by surprise.

The bus packed with cargo behind passengers.

I was getting anxious about the amount of time we had spent at the station waiting for the vehicle to be full.  I actually could have left on the previous vehicle, but I refuse to sit in the back because it's very uncomfortable and often very hot inside.  I prefer to sit in the front.  Especially on a long journey.  So as I waited and it seemed we would be there a longer time than expected, someone who had a large load wanted to pack it in the vehicle.  The driver decided to remove the last row of seating and put all the bundles of cargo inside.  This meant the van was filled sooner and we could depart. 

"Is that even safe?" I asked the men as they loaded up the vehicle.  Then I walked towards the side where the doors were open and asked the people sitting inside if they felt uncomfortable that those big bags were behind them.  Any sudden stop, they could shift and hit them in the head.  They seemed confident that would never happen.  This is another example of safety challenges in Ghana.  This wouldn't be allowed in some countries.  But this is seen as normal in many developing nations.