Tàles of A Commuter S2 E3

I’ve never really understood why trotro mates lie about the final destinations! It must be a trade secret or just a habit. They’re willing to tell lies, even the devil will be proud of just to get passengers. Their masters also seem to turn a blind eye to these things. As a student, I regularly have experiences with trotro mates and with every experience, I get more and more amazed. After touring various places in Accra, Ghana by public transport, popularly known as trotro, I’ve managed to identify the biggest liars amongst trotro mates (bus conductors). It’s possible that some of my readers already know which group of mates are the biggest liars.

If you’re a regular commuter on the Circle-Kaneshie stretch, you’d probably have realized that 75% of the time a mate shouts 37-Circle-Kanesh…..the last part is a lie.

Let’s take a case and analyze it…. Coming from Madina or UPSA, you’re likely to hear Circle-Kanesh with the Kanesh aspect being emphasized. However, with time, it gradually becomes Circle Circle Circle much to the annoyance of passengers who believed the mate. It means that at Circle they have to join a Kaneshie bound trotro. My way of dealing with these pathological unrepentant liars is by simply paying the full Kaneshie fare, leaving them with two uncomfortable decisions to make:

1. Take me to Kaneshie

2. Find a Kaneshie bound car for me at Circle.

You can try it too, if it works good for you but if the mate blatantly tells you they won’t go to Kaneshie or any other destination, know that you’re just unfortunate……

Let’s get interactive in the comments section and share your experiences. And please share this piece with your friends after reading. M for Merçi

Yours truly,

The mate’s worst nightmare

Davey