From today, Tuesday, September 29, 2026, Accra’s Ayalolo buses get to do what many commuters have long wished they could, which is to drive past the traffic and make public transport easier, affordable, and reliable.
But the question lingering in the minds of many Ghanaians who have witnessed this before is whether they will still be doing it a few weeks from now.
The Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, working with the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), the Greater Accra Passenger Transport Executive (GAPTE) and the Department of Urban Roads, have reintroduced a contra flow arrangement from today.
This revamped arrangement covers the Amasaman–Accra, Adenta–Accra and Kasoa–Accra corridors into the Central Business District (CBD). The government says this arrangement will only run at peak hours from 6am to 9am and 4pm to 8pm.
On the selected sections, authorised Ayalolo buses will use a lane against the normal flow of traffic. Private cars, taxis, trotros and commercial vehicles are barred from these lanes, and MTTD officers will enforce this at strategic points and major intersections.
The goal, the government says is to make Ayalolo buses more punctual, cut journey times, ease congestion into the CBD, and nudge commuters and private car owners, towards mass transport.
Why now?
The timing of this intervention is very hard to miss. On Saturday, September 26, an 8% fare increase took effect. Fares are now GH¢5.50 to GH¢36.80 for trotros, and a GH¢30 fare, for example, moved to GH¢32.40. The GPRTU and GRTCC also warned that drivers who charge above the approved rates face sanctions from the unions.
On the road, commuters say the story is different. Many complain that some drivers set their own fares, and that the “short-short” habit has become routine. Passengers are dropped before their destination and asked to pay again to complete the journey. A ride that should cost one fare can quietly cost between three and five, with commuters travelling to places such as Kasoa, Pokuase, Amasaman, Madina, and Adenta mostly affected.
The cries and complaints of passengers about this abuse on the roads virtually fell on deaf ears, sometimes leading to confrontations, abuse, and physical assaults in trotros.
Add the morning gridlock, and the daily trip to work starts to feel like a toll road with no road. For a commuter with few options, the revamped Ayalolo feels like a big relief. It is a bid to give people a credible alternative, not just another bus.
But We Have Been Here Before
Ayalolo, a Ga word meaning “we are still on our way,” was launched in 2016 as a Bus Rapid Transit service, with 245 buses bought for the system. When dedicated lanes existed between Circle and Tesano, the buses reportedly saved riders up to 30 minutes.
But the lanes did not hold. In 2023, reports found many buses parked and abandoned at the Achimota New Station, with weeds growing through the concrete. It noted that Ayalolo operated on the Amasaman, Adenta and Kasoa routes without enough dedicated lanes, so buses simply joined regular traffic. GAPTE was also struggling to bear the cost of running the fleet.
This is not the first such arrangement. Earlier efforts started with fanfare, then lost steam, and passengers were left to the trotro. The names of the corridors in today’s release are the same ones where Ayalolo already runs.
Different this time?
There are a few signs of a more serious effort. The Minister, Mahama Ayariga, floated a peak-hour lane on September 8, and a feasibility study followed. Reports say the plan is tied to 126 repaired buses. Four agencies are named in the release, including the police, who will do the enforcing.
However, the release leaves open questions that will decide the outcome:
Enforcement: Lanes protected by police work on day one. The test is whether they are still protected on day nine, and day ninety.
Fleet size: The release does not say how many buses will run on each corridor. Three busy routes served by 126 buses is a thin cushion, and any breakdown means longer waits.
The exact stretches: Only “designated sections” are mentioned, subject to traffic and road safety approvals. The gains depend on where these sections begin and end.
Funding: Ayalolo managers have said buses stuck in traffic lose money. Faster trips could help, but the release says nothing on funding for maintenance.
The Minister noted that the expansion should not collapse the trotro business, since transport stations between the two ends of each route will still have work. That may be so, but it also means trotros stay a big part of the daily commute, fares and all.
The Verdict Belongs to Commuters
Ayalolo will not fix Accra’s transport problems on its own. It only needs to be reliably faster and cheaper than the alternative, every single morning.
If it delivers, commuters will finally have a real alternative when a trotro fare feels unfair. If it fades, the lesson will be an old one that in Accra, the trotro is still the only bus that always turns up.
Today is the first day. The real answer will come in the weeks after the cameras leave.
