What Is Trotro?
In Ghana and neighboring countries, tro tro are privately owned minibus share taxis that travel fixed routes leaving when filled to capacity. While there are tro tro stations, these vehicles for hire can also be boarded anywhere along the route.
Operated by a driver and a conductor (who collects money, shouts out the destination, and can also be called a “mate”), many are decorated with slogans and religious sayings. Fewer tro tros operate on Sundays.
The term is believed to derive from the Ga word tro, “threepence”, because the conductors usually asked for “three three pence”, which was the standard bus fare in the 1940s, when Ghana still uses the British West African pound and later the Ghanaian pound.
Alternatively, its origin is not “three times three pence” but rather “threepence [thruhpnce, tro] each”: doubling a coin’s name in the vernacular means “that coin for each person (or item)”. Three pence was the price per passenger in the early 1960s, when pounds/shillings/pence were still in use, including threepence coins, before decimalization of the currency into cedi and pesewa in 1965.
How To Pick Trotro In Ghana:
- Identify your destination: Know where you want to go and the nearest trotro station.
- Find the right trotro: Trotro vehicles are usually minibuses or vans with identifying numbers or logos painted on the side. Look for the trotro that is headed to your destination.
- Board the trotro: Board the trotro and take a seat. The conductor will usually come around to collect the fare.
- Pay the fare: Trotro fares in Ghana are typically very affordable and are paid in cash to the conductor. Be prepared to give exact change.
- Get off at your stop: When you reach your destination, signal to the conductor that you want to get off. They will stop the vehicle and let you out.
It’s important to note that traveling around town in a trotro can be crowded, and it’s best to keep your valuables safe and secure while riding. Additionally, be aware of pickpocketing and exercise caution when traveling in busy places in Ghana or late at night.
Trotro Prices In Ghana:
In accordance to the recent list of trotro fares in Ghana released by the GPRTU, traveling a distance which usually cost GH¢ 5.00 will now cost GH¢5.70, GH¢ 3.00 will now cost GH¢ 3.40.
A long-distance fare of GH¢ 40.00 will now cost GH¢45, while a distance which used to cost GH¢100 will now cost GH¢113.00…!!!!