Transport-Land Use Research Study - Millennium Cities Initiative ...

The Accra Pilot BRT: Transport-Land Use Research Study
Millennium Cities Initiative and Accra Metropolitan Assembly
century. The omnibus emerged as a leading form of motorised urban transport, even in cities, which had
extensive rail, metro and tram networks.
The omnibus service was characterised by large buses, which operated on networks of scheduled routes
centred on the urban core with harmonised fares. Operations were based on the efficiency of production,
including standardised vehicle types and parts, depot-based maintenance, organised trained labour and
hierarchical management. The underlying fact is that large-scale centralised bus operations provided an
efficient, effective, profitable means of transportation in cities that did not yet experience high levels of car
ownership and its associated congestion (Finn, 2008).
Presently, public transport supply in the city is dominated by the private sector which runs the famous
minibus public transportation vehicles (locally referred to as tro-tro) and taxis whose operations gained
prominence under Ghana‟s Economic Recovery Programme (ERP) in the early 1980s, when the state
divested its public investment in bus operations to the private sector (Fouracre et al., 1994). In 1989, due to a
legal restriction that banned all minibuses (up to 23 seats) from operating on routes beyond 50 km from the
city, an estimated 10,800 minibuses were converted to urban operations, further increasing transport
provision in the city (Ofosu-Dorte, 1992).
The dominant entity is the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), which organises more than 80%
of the tro-tro sector, as well as being very active in taxi and shared taxi provision. Thanks to alignment with
the prevailing political faction in the 1980s, GPRTU was granted permissions in organising terminals and
services. The balance of the sector consists of a mix of associations (Cooperative, PROTOA) and some bus
companies (e.g. Agate) which are affiliated under the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC)
(Finn, 2008). There is no entry limit into the transport market. The Transport Operations Unit of the AMA is
responsible for the management and control of parking, and operation of lorry parks and bus terminals. Of
late, in practice, the management of lorry parks and terminals has been delegated to the transport operator
unions (GIMSR, 1996).
The emergence and scale of private sector transport providers to Accra‟s transport supply is significant. At
the time when the state-owned OSA was crumbling against the backdrop of rising economic losses and
overwhelming operational difficulties and stiff competition from the private sector, the contribution of the
City Express Service (CES) was abysmal. In January 1992, for instance, the CES‟ urban mileage was less
than 10 % of the entire city (Fouracre et al., 1994). Added to the preceding point is the inability of the OSA
and CES buses to raise the quality of their services to levels that would enable them to compete with the
private sector in spite of huge government subsidies received over the years (OSA, 1990; Abane, 1992).
In view of the disparities between the huge levels of demand and limited supply of transport service during
this era, the private sector transport providers revamped the transport service delivery and made it readily
available, accessible and affordable Available figures indicate that in 2004 alone, 1.3 million passengers
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