Life in Ghana: the world of taxi drivers
Visitors to Ghana will find that half the vehicles on the city’s streets are taxis with distinctive bright yellow-orange wings. Even those who keep a careful tally will find that their statistics back up their first impression. According to the Building and Highway Research Institute (BRRI), there were 121,000 registered vehicles in Ghana in 1993, of which registered taxis made up 28,000 or 23%. However, taxis spend much more time on the road than other types of vehicles and this is how they can dominate the traffic scene; and it is the ever-present community of taxi drivers that characterize life on the go on the streets of Ghana’s towns and cities.
Almost all Ghanaians wear a happy countenance, but taxi drivers excel at conveying joy. This seems to be partly because owning a car and/or being able to make a relatively easy living provides a sense of good fortune, and partly because a cheerful and friendly attitude is good for business. Whatever the reason, taxi drivers are famous for exhibiting an infectious joy at being alive.
Popular Ghanaian author Cameron Dodoo has written about taxi drivers who expressed great enthusiasm in the 1950s, when the ubiquitous Morris Oxford was the vehicle of choice. They would stop next to a friend by first driving past him and then engaging reverse while he was still moving forward so that the vehicle would back up as if apologizing. Even if the most modern cars are too delicate to manifest such exuberance, the spirit that moves them has lost only a small part of that seminal joy of newly won freedom.
Much of the taxi driver’s life is spent greeting friends. Traveling with the windows open and one arm out, he is acutely aware of his surroundings and is ready to wave and honk at every familiar face. Also keeping an eye out for possible fees, he responds in kind to the sight of every foreigner or person of apparent purchasing power that he sees walking on the side of the road. There can be no doubt that the engine horn is the supreme expression of the driver’s joy, and no opportunity is lost to sound it, whether greeting an acquaintance, requesting a ticket, expressing appreciation for a beautiful girl or venting his frustration at a road block
Many taxis wait for their fare in established ‘truck parks’ for trotros and buses and often follow trotro routes to other terminal stations. However, unlike buses and most trotros, which stop only at regular points along the way, taxis will stop anywhere to drop off or pick up additional passengers. They will even stop for their passengers to buy food, drinks and trinkets from the street vendors. The goal is to always travel full: with all the seats occupied. Anyone requiring exclusive use of a taxi must first find an empty vehicle and then inform the driver that they wish to ‘rent’ it. Needless to say, the cost of chartering is much higher than the standard rate in shared occupancy.
Taxi drivers rarely buy more than a gallon of fuel at a time. This means they frequently call their preferred gas stations, expanding their network of friends and hopefully improving their chances of getting fuel in times of scarcity. Living hand to mouth, the taxi driver converts part of his earnings into fuel as the day progresses. Passengers chartering a ride to a more distant destination are usually required to pay an advance and wait at a gas station for fuel to be loaded. This is an immediate frustration for those in a hurry, but for those as relaxed as the driver it’s an opportunity for a light-hearted discussion of current affairs interspersed with complaints about the high cost of fuel.
Ghanaian taxi drivers ensure that their passengers remain in constant interaction with the general population and this is not just because they travel with their windows wide open. Unlike Europeans, Ghanaians look first at people’s faces and then at the vehicle they are traveling in. A friend or family member is never lost, whether walking or riding, and those who ride always want to be seen. For the taxi driver it is better to travel with paying passengers than to travel alone as this multiplies friendly exchanges. The shortest trip is an opportunity to activate a kaleidoscope of smiling faces and joyful waves. Yeah! Life on the road is life itself, in all its richness and variety, thanks to the tireless good humor of the taxi drivers.