I have always said trotro is a Ghanaian living bread, a true delicacy and I could not be wrong. The stress trotro can put you through on a typical day is no joke yet surprisingly we wake up each morning, queue up to board this very vehicle to our respective destinations.
The truth is even with a low budget one could just go about their daily tasks with trotro. Notwithstanding the availability and affordability of these trotros, one may be forced to embark on a journey without it and that is when the need for taxi, what we call in our local parlance “dropping” comes into the equation.
Having a chauffeur to yourself whilst you sit comfortably to be driven to your destination without the presence of other passengers, the noise and the scruffiness is actually one of the nicest things to ever be experienced by anyone. Of course a ride in a taxi cannot rub shoulders with one in a Bentley or a G-wagon but some of these taxi drivers can get you feeling like a kid in Disneyland.
With their finely cushioned seats, tinted windows with a well fragranced air conditioned ambience sandwiched with soft music making love to your senses—some of these cars are really “pimped”. It is actually relaxing.
At the back of all these appraisals is their pettiness, tackiness and their somewhat uncouth behaviour.
I could swear taxi drivers have a way of striking a new chord of annoyance in you. The way they can honk their horn alone leaves you thinking you live on a ranch—and you dare not dress in a provocative or in a way that I would say connotes sophistication, their catcalling coupled with their intolerable persistent toward you for you to pick them by any means is enough to send your legs back to where it came from.
So my Godmother and I decided to flatter ourselves with a taxi ride in one of the afternoons where the sun decides to to be inconsiderate. It is not like we were apt with it in the first place. So at Circle we stopped this nice taxi and told the driver we were headed to Dzorwulu, exactly where Perez Dome is. This driver shamelessly opened his mouth to tell us that he would take 50 ghc.
For once I thought he heard us wrong, perhaps he thought we wanted him to drive us to Dubai. Like 50 ghc, how mister driver—are you trying to buy a new car in two days I asked. How can you mention such a fare for such a short distance when trotro won’t charge even 2 ghc. I believe that must have ticked his livid box.
His demeanour changed and we were adequately dressed with insults before he sped off. And that is not the first I have experienced nor witnessed. They mention exorbitant prices that leaves you depressed.
You better not tow their lane on a rainy day, when you just left the mall, the club, or any place of importance because the things they can tell you would shock you, tell me this is not relatable?.
These drivers “mouths have opened ankasa”!