Difference between revisions of "Trotro (Ghana)"

|style="font-size:1.1em;"|An estimated 85% of the city of Accra – the capital of the West African country of Ghana – moves around in a network of entrepreneurial motor transportation known as the ''trotro'' (Okoye, Sands and Debra 2010: 12). The word “trotro” evokes images of a broken-down 15-passenger van, stripped of its once-plush interior, outfitted with locally-produced seats of metal frames and plywood bottoms and covered with fake leather. This transformation maximizes the number of passengers on any given ride. Mechanics and repairmen in Accra control a process through which vehicles are “tropicalized” and “baptized into the system” (Verrips and Meyer 2001). Along with market trading, ''trotro'' drivers are quintessential examples of the “informal sector” or “informal economy” in Accra, and the history of the ''trotro'' sector highlights the structural conditions through which informal economies grow and thrive. The omnipresence of ''trotros'' embodies the challenges to contemporary analysis of informality and to development policies that seek to reform the informal economy (Hart 1973).

|style="font-size:1.1em;"|An estimated 85% of the city of Accra – the capital of the West African country of Ghana – moves around in a network of entrepreneurial motor transportation known as the ''trotro'' (Okoye, Sands and Debra 2010: 12). The word “trotro” evokes images of a broken-down 15-passenger van, stripped of its once-plush interior, outfitted with locally-produced seats of metal frames and plywood bottoms and covered with fake leather. This transformation maximizes the number of passengers on any given ride. Mechanics and repairmen in Accra control a process through which vehicles are “tropicalized” and “baptized into the system” (Verrips and Meyer 2001). Along with market trading, ''trotro'' drivers are quintessential examples of the “informal sector” or “informal economy” in Accra, and the history of the ''trotro'' sector highlights the structural conditions through which informal economies grow and thrive. The omnipresence of ''trotros'' embodies the challenges to contemporary analysis of informality and to development policies that seek to reform the informal economy (Hart 1973).

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''Trotros'' emerged in the 1960s out of a broader motor transportation sector through which African owner-operators dominated the transport of goods and passengers (see also [[boda-boda]] in Uganda). Motor vehicles were first introduced in Ghana, then the British colony of the Gold Coast, in the early part of the 20th century. Cocoa farmers, in particular, saw motor vehicles as a good investment, which allowed them to transport their produce directly to the coast. In purchasing vehicles and transporting their produce, the economic choices of these farmers became a political act. Farmers used their economic power to resist colonial attempts to control the African movement and the flow of profits through the railway.  

''Trotros'' emerged in the 1960s out of a broader motor transportation sector through which African owner-operators dominated the transport of goods and passengers (see also [[boda-boda]] in Uganda). Motor vehicles were first introduced in Ghana, then the British colony of the Gold Coast, in the early part of the 20th century. Cocoa farmers, in particular, saw motor vehicles as a good investment, which allowed them to transport their produce directly to the coast. In purchasing vehicles and transporting their produce, the economic choices of these farmers became a political act. Farmers used their economic power to resist colonial attempts to control the African movement and the flow of profits through the railway.  

Before the spread of these wooden trucks, the wealthiest urban passengers drove private cars or hired taxis. The city’s most mobile residents, traveling to and from the market to trade, rode the municipal bus system, approved for circulation by the Accra Town Council in 1927. The British-style buses were designed for passenger transport solely, but people travelling to and from the market were often also carrying goods. These did not fit easily into the tight quarters of the municipal bus. Market women and drivers saw an opportunity: the ''mammy lorries'' transported passengers around the city and offloaded goods at local markets simultaneously. The city of La was both a gateway for goods entering the city from the agricultural areas to the east and a center for driver training. Drivers moving between La and Accra with partially empty trucks started picking up market women standing along the roadside with their goods. British colonial officials labeled these vehicles “pirate passenger lorries” suggesting that these vehicles not only cut into the revenue of the municipal bus system, but also undermined colonial authority and order in the capital city. For market women and other passengers these lorries provided a better way to get around and allowed them to connect neighborhoods with major markets throughout the city (Hart forthcoming). The British tried to eliminate the ‘pirate passenger lorries’ through regulation and restrictions, but they failed to completely stamp out the practice.  

Before the spread of these wooden trucks, the wealthiest urban passengers drove private cars or hired taxis. The city’s most mobile residents, traveling to and from the market to trade, rode the municipal bus system, approved for circulation by the Accra Town Council in 1927. The British-style buses were designed for passenger transport solely, but people travelling to and from the market were often also carrying goods. These did not fit easily into the tight quarters of the municipal bus. Market women and drivers saw an opportunity: the ''mammy lorries'' transported passengers around the city and offloaded goods at local markets simultaneously. The city of La was both a gateway for goods entering the city from the agricultural areas to the east and a center for driver training. Drivers moving between La and Accra with partially empty trucks started picking up market women standing along the roadside with their goods. British colonial officials labeled these vehicles “pirate passenger lorries” suggesting that these vehicles not only cut into the revenue of the municipal bus system, but also undermined colonial authority and order in the capital city. For market women and other passengers these lorries provided a better way to get around and allowed them to connect neighborhoods with major markets throughout the city (Hart forthcoming). The British tried to eliminate the ‘pirate passenger lorries’ through regulation and restrictions, but they failed to completely stamp out the practice.  

The emergence of ''trotros'' in the late 1950s – first operated by the Ga driver Anane – is an extension of the activities of the colonial-era passenger lorries. Continuing to carry a mixed load of goods and passengers, ''trotro'' drivers used shorter versions of wooden trucks. Unlike their ‘pirate’ predecessors, post-independence leaders recognized ''trotros'' as lawful forms of public transport that could operate alongside municipal buses. ''Trotros'' operated along the same routes as municipal buses, often charging higher but set fares for travel anywhere within the municipal boundaries of Accra. The term ‘trotro’ itself is drawn from the three pence fare - the word ''tro'' in Ga language means ‘three’. Beginning in the mid-1960s, the municipal bus system began a steady decline, hampered by the cost of maintaining the system and the competition from ''trotros'' (Hart 2013). By the 1970s and 1980s, the public transport system was dominated almost entirely by ''trotros'' and lorries.   

The emergence of ''trotros'' in the late 1950s – first operated by the Ga driver Anane – is an extension of the activities of the colonial-era passenger lorries. Continuing to carry a mixed load of goods and passengers, ''trotro'' drivers used shorter versions of wooden trucks. Unlike their ‘pirate’ predecessors, post-independence leaders recognized ''trotros'' as lawful forms of public transport that could operate alongside municipal buses. ''Trotros'' operated along the same routes as municipal buses, often charging higher but set fares for travel anywhere within the municipal boundaries of Accra. The term ‘trotro’ itself is drawn from the three pence fare - the word ''tro'' in Ga language means ‘three’. Beginning in the mid-1960s, the municipal bus system began a steady decline, hampered by the cost of maintaining the system and the competition from ''trotros'' (Hart 2013). By the 1970s and 1980s, the public transport system was dominated almost entirely by ''trotros'' and lorries.