FORGET THE DISTANCE…… ENJOY THE RIDE!!

Have you ever traveled in Ghana on a VVIP bus? If your answer is yes then am sure you will attest to its reliability and comfort. If no then I will recommend it anytime you have to travel a long distant in Ghana.

inside a VVIP bus

Talk of comfort and a VVIP bus is there to give you that. They are more relaxed and the perfect choice for travelling long distance such as Accra to Kumasi or Accra toTakoradi. It seems to be the preferred choice for most Ghanaians. Cases of road accidents involving mini buses such as the tro tro made it difficult for people to travel long distances. The introduction of the VVIP buses brought relive to most travellers. Many have attested to the fact that between a VVIP bus and a tro tro, the difference is very huge.

Now for those who have not travelled on a VVIP bus let me take you on an imaginary ride to see the various facilities it offers you the traveller. I was personally amazed when I visited one of the VVIP bus terminals in Accra precisely Circle(Accra). For foreigners who visit Ghana I can assure you that a VVIP bus is not so different from the airplane hat flew you to the country.

You enter a VVIP bus and where the driver sits and controls the bus is quiet sophisticated than that of the tro tro or taxi. The driver’s seat is designed with a part where he can relax his arm when he decides to take a rest. Now let’s see what is in there for the passenger. The seats are bigger, softer and welcoming.

The seats can be adjusted depending on the passengers preferred position. Right on top of the passenger seat is a mini air condition. Every pair of seat has this facility and allows the passengers to regulate it to suite them. While you are seated and the bus takes off the television is switched on. There are often two televisions. One for those on the front seats and the other for those on the back seats. You will either be watching a local movie or a video clip for the music lovers. VVIP buses are very neat and spacious. One amazing thing I discovered about some of the buses is that they may have a water dispenser. This means as a passenger you have access to hot cold water whiles on the bus. Passengers will not have to get to a rest stop before getting water to quench their thirst. You can board a VVIP bus without having to book a ticket in advance. You walk to the bus terminal and there is always a bus available. Tickets can be purchased right at the terminal.

drivers seat

VVIP buses are hardly involved in road accidents. It takes you on a smooth drive you do not realize you are traveling on a bad road. Well many have preferred mini buses because they are cheaper. The fares for travelling on a tro tro from Accra to Kumasi can be two or three times less than that of the VVIP bus. But as the saying goes ‘good things 
’t come cheap’.

Tro tro and inscriptions

Tro tros are one interesting form of public transport in Ghana. Just take a day to observe them and you might laugh your rips off. Looking for an inspirational message in the morning? You can find some behind a tro tro. I sought to research more into the inscriptions and names behind most pubic transport and believe me it was full of fun and lessons to learn. The names, as I have come to observe, may be written according to the state of the car, the nature or behavior of the drivers, or some past experience one must have had and even the religious belief of the driver.

 In Ghana inscriptions may either be in English but quiet often are in the local dialect. Most of us might not pay attention to these inscriptions and names because probably we have our own car and most often in a hurry. I board tro tro virtually all week to school and I have come across very interesting inscriptions. One that caught my eye was ‘wo besi wↄe’ which is in Akan language meaning ‘where will you alight”. The driver is obviously assuring you that wherever your destination, his car can take you there. You find yourself stuck in traffic early in the morning and a tro tro driver crosses you. Being  furious u look behind the tro tro and it says ‘forgive and forget’. You probably will smile and feel it’s a human being that was speaking directly to you.

 In my research I came across inscription that said ‘nkraa wↄ fie’. This literally means there are children at home. Curious as I was I sought to find out the reason behind this inscription. The driver who gave his name as Isaac said he wrote that to let people know that he has children to take care of so they should bored his tro tro so he can earn money to take care of them. He believes people will be moved by the message.

Another inscription was ‘enye m’ahoↄden’ which means ‘it is not by my strength’. Such inscriptions are often by drivers who are highly religious and believe that it is not by their own might but the work of God. There are others such as

Foate

Pentecost fire

Kekeli (which is an Ewe word for light or brightness)

Monkey dey work

No mistake no correction

Let them say

Suro nipa (fear humans)

Obosam mpo suro  (which means even the devil is afraid)

No Jesus no life

AbotrƐ na ƐyƐ  which means patience is the best

                It is interesting how some of these  inscriptions go contrary to the behaviour and attitudes of the drivers and their conductors.