Tro-tro
The Tro-Tro (also: trotro; other names: mammy lorry, mammi bus, poda-poda, in German often also referred to as bush taxi ) is an inexpensive means of transport for people and small loads that is widely used in West African Ghana . It is a suitably converted and tightly seated delivery van or minibus, which is designed for 16 or more people, depending on the type of vehicle.
It is the cheapest of all means of passenger transport in Ghana and, alongside the shared taxi, forms the backbone of public transport.
Similar vehicles operate under different national names in most countries in Africa.
Origin and meaning of the name Tro-Tro
Tro-Tro is borrowed from the Akan language and literally means three-three . It refers to the previous fare of three pesewas . The doubling of the word emphasizes its meaning for a specific cause.
The first generation of Mammy Lorries
The first generation of Mammy Lorries were J1 delivery vans from the British company Bedford , which were imported to Ghana from the then colonial power of Great Britain between 1948 and 1959 . Later, in 1959, the Bedford Corp. took over in Tema, which had risen from a small fishing village to a seaport and industrial location . an assembly plant in operation. Only the individual parts had to be delivered and then assembled on site. The assembly was carried out only up to the raw chassis, which was composed only of the chassis with drive and gear unit together with the bonnet and front fenders as well as the dashboard and the control elements.
The massive, open box structure with seats and the typical sunroof, which protrudes far to the front, was made in numerous small workshops by local craftsmen. The box construction consisted entirely of local woods and was brightly painted. The front sheet of the sun visor, the side surfaces and the rear side wall were provided with sayings, as is still common today in other countries in the southern hemisphere. These slogans were and are mostly religious sayings, written in both English and local languages, and especially in northern Ghana in Arabic. But proverbs or humorous allusions to the vehicle itself or its driver are often painted in an artistic mannerist way.
The assembly plant in Tema was closed in July 1966 after the production and thus the import of the Bedford Lorries had been stopped.
The Bedford-Lorries, with their continuous wooden benches and wooden planks to limit the usable space, were originally designed for ten passengers, but usually overstaffed with up to 20 people, plus luggage and small freight. The poor stability of the wooden structure left the passengers with little chance of survival in collisions and rollover accidents. In accidents, there were often many deaths and serious injuries. For this reason, the old Bedfords' license for commercial passenger transport expired in the early 1990s. Today you rarely come across an old Mammy Lorry as a truck, they have all but disappeared from the streets of Ghana. Preserved wooden structures are still used in some places, for example as a sales stand for fast food.
Imported used delivery vans are increasingly replacing the old mammies
At the end of the sixties, used delivery vans were increasingly imported from Europe, which replaced the aging Bedfords. In the eighties and nineties it was mainly Japanese-made delivery vans for small Mammy Lorries and Mercedes-Benz T2 models for longer journeys.
The interior fittings were also designed almost uniformly by many small workshops. The Japanese Mammies were provided with four rows of three to four upholstered seats each, with the passage on the side of the sliding door also being provided with folding seats . The limited legroom is very uncomfortable for Western notions of travel comfort; even a person of average body length will press their kneecap against the hard backrest plate in the front row. In addition to the driver, there is space for two more passengers. Behind the last row of seats there is a narrow space for cargo and luggage, which can also be stowed under the seat frames and, in many cases, on roof racks. Most of the time, the original side windows are also replaced with elongated sliding windows to ensure adequate ventilation of the passenger compartment. An important thing in the tropical, humid climate of Ghana.
The expansion of the T2 vans is also more or less uniform, depending on whether the chassis is short or long, for example with four rows of two seats on each side of the aisle and a continuous bench at the very back, which is typically raised by one relatively to get large trunk with tailgate. The stable and high chassis of the T2 transporters makes them particularly suitable for the unpaved and often swampy side roads after rainfall.
Just like the old Bedford Lorries, the following model types are often provided with imaginatively painted sayings and decorations.
Tro-Tros on Ghana's streets today
For some years now, the Mercedes-Benz T1 vans and also the Sprinters have clearly dominated the scene at Ghana's tro-tro stations. The interior construction does not differ significantly from the types mentioned above. What is striking, however, is the declining sense of humor and art in the external decoration. In many cases, only the original paintwork is left, if the company lettering of the imported commercial vehicles is not simply left. It is not uncommon for visitors from Europe to come across Tro-Tros with a red cross, signal red stripes and blue lights and even delivery vans from companies from home.
Transport principle
Tro-Tros serve different distances. You drive exclusively inner-city tours as well as suburban, regional and long-distance routes, even beyond the borders of neighboring countries. They form the low-cost backbone of passenger transport in Ghana. The fare is fixed and depends on the distance. It is usually collected shortly after boarding by a traveling cashier or by the driver himself. In many regions (for example in Kwahu - Nkawkaw ) the tro-tro operation is also institutionalized. Here you can buy a ticket at a sales stand before starting your journey.
The tro-tro usually only leaves the starting point when all the places are occupied. On busy routes, the vehicle usually fills up very quickly, and queues sometimes form. On the other hand, on less popular routes or at certain times of the day it can take a very long time - half an hour and much longer - until the Trotro has filled up and left.
Practically every city and larger town has a differently developed Tro-Tro station, some with covered waiting shelters. Either the vehicles themselves or the parking positions are provided with signs showing the destination and, if applicable, the route. There is no fixed timetable, rather the departure depends on when the vehicle is fully occupied; this is the only way to ensure that the operation covers costs. Usually the seats at the windows and next to the driver are preferred. In principle, the Tro-Tro stops at any desired point on the route, which must be communicated to the driver in advance, and you can also waving at the roadside to express your wish to ride. If it goes through without stopping, then it is fully occupied. At established stops, the route is often called out by the accompanying cashier ("mate").
Longer overland journeys are sometimes interrupted at rest stops to give passengers the opportunity to use the toilet and buy drinks and snacks. But even when stopping at traffic lights or in a traffic jam, the cars are often surrounded by street vendors who sell drinking water, fruit and other things.
A pragmatic sense of community is common among passengers. When new passengers get on and off, some have to leave the vehicle to clear their way to the seats; for example, mothers with small children are offered seats on the wide benches instead of folding seats, and sometimes passengers also take other people's luggage on their laps, if all storage space is already occupied.
Technical condition and accidents
Only in the last few years have the responsible authorities reacted to the high accident risk of this means of transport with more stringent technical inspections and driver controls. If most of the imported used vehicles have already lost their registration in Europe because of their technical condition, the notorious overloading and the poor road conditions outside of the big cities quickly lead to additional wear of the chassis, especially the shock absorbers, which make a vehicle uncontrollable when cornering quickly . Often there are vehicles whose doors are only secured by ropes or the like. The already low profit margins tempt Tro-Tro owners to always go full throttle in order to get through as many tours as possible ( "time is money" is a common motto on Tro-Tro).
Ghanaian newspapers reported several times on the problem of drunk taxi and tro-tro drivers. Serious accidents end tragically with many deaths and serious injuries due to the overcrowding with passengers and freight.
Accident Tro-Tros can be seen almost every day along the expressways. Since the vehicle wrecks are then cannibalized on site, you can see vehicle remains bent and eaten away by rust every few kilometers.
Today the Tro-Tros have to undergo regular technical inspections, a registration and insurance label must be attached to the windshield. A label on the driver's door identifies the owner of the vehicle with his postal address.
particularities
In the larger overland Lorries, the passengers are occasionally delighted by Christian preachers with fervent religious speeches. A fee is expected.
literature
- KG Kyei, H. Schreckenbach: No time to die - Accra, 1999
- St. v. Gnielinski: Ghana - Darmstadt, 1986