It’s a simple fact that a lot of companies in Ghana have very little regard for us consumers. You cal with your problems and those attending to you are behaving like you’re spoiling their day.
Worse, most of the time we don’t even have any reliable means of conveying our complaints for them to listen.
Despite this fact, the OA Bus Company has been accused of taking this to an entirely different level by a passenger, who recounted his horror experience travelling from Tamale to Accra.
According to Salman Faris Ayuba, in a post on social media, he boarded an OA Bus from Tamale to Accra and encountered the most unpleasant travelling experience of his life.
He revealed how he was maltreated and emotionally abused in the car, and even physically threatened.
Ayuba thus warns Ghanaians not to patronize OA Buses and interestingly, some of the comments also agreed the company is not providing safe travel experience to passengers.
Read his post on what happened below…
OA busses; The most dangerous traveling company in Ghana.
Safety remain the topmost priority for every traveler. Much as we’re concerned with getting to our destinations on time, we do not compromise on arriving in one piece- physically and emotionally.
I arrived in Accra quite earlier than expected (due to over speeding), but certainly not in the best of my emotional self.
I open my window for fresh air since the heat in Tamale had overpowered the air condition in this OA Executive Saturday evening bus with registration number ER2465-11GH. This man sitting right behind me, without any word, closes the window. So I’m thinking maybe because it is closer to his seat, so I open the one a bit far away. He again closes it violently. Trying to find out reasons for his actions, he turns it into a fight. I let sleeping dogs lie, for peace to reign.
We get to Bupei, and find out my seat has actually been sold to another passenger waiting to join the bus at Bupei. This man portraying himself as a conductor arrogantly asks me to drop from the bus, as though I illegally boarded it. Now first of all, I did not write that ticket, I do not also sell tickets. I don’t look stupid or mentally disturbed to illegally board a vehicle. Instead of apologizing for such disrespect, he’s rather arrogantly asking me to get off the bus. Now this same man I had a confrontation earlier with, asks to see my ticket. For the sake of peace, I oblige. Immediately he gets hold my ticket, he asked me to get off the seat and get off the bus. I refuses and ask him to hand me back my ticket, he refuses and insists I get off the bus.
Now everyone in the bus now thinks I’m the devil, staring at me like I’ve stollen. As hypocrites as we are as a people, and because it’s me in the boiling port and not them, they look at me like “just get down and let’s go”. All this while, not the driver nor his mate, found it necessary to say a word to me. Well, I maintain I’ve not done any wrong and hold on to my seat. A lady offers to give her seat to the other guy and prefers to lay on the floor. Matter resolved. Now the Bupei conductor still makes derogatory statements at me as though I’m the devil. I call him out and speak my mind. Now this old man (also a passenger) gets angry over my refusal to be maltreated and starts shouting at me while walking towards me. What is he going to do? Slap me I guess. Well, I tell him I’ve left him to Allah and that if he’s found me someone’s son to abuse, Allah would abuse him on the day of judgement. At this point, you can imagine how I must be feeling.
I ask the man holding on to my ticket to return it, he still refuses.
All this while, not a word from the driver still.
We’re in Techiman now, I complain to the driver to retrieve my ticket, he’s unperturbed. I tell him how I do not feel safe with that guy sitting behind me. The driver is still adamant. He can’t be bothered. So, I call the Ghana Police office line. The officer asks that I hand the phone to the driver. He’s instructed to stop at the next police barrier so I make a formal complain and the matter resolved. The driver agrees. I’m back to my seat, looking forward to having everything resolved at the next police barrier. The driver passes the first police barrier without stoping, he passes the second, the third, until we arrived in Accra.
So, I travelled for 12hrs in a bus with two people who hurt me emotionally and showed intentions to hurt me physically. Yet not a word of apology from the driver or his conductor. And when a police officer instructed them to stop at the nearest police barrier for matters to be resolved, they refused and drove to Accra.
Friends and relatives have since morning been sharing tales of similar unsafe and terrorizing experiences on the same transport company.
I’m not writing this for the attention of the management of OA travels, I’m convinced they care less. They’re only interested in extorting travelers through luggage handling.
I’m writing this for the attention of innocent travelers, who might fall victim to the unprofessionalism, physical and emotional threats OA travels puts passengers through.
Parents, friends, siblings, love ones, stories of the death is a warning to the living. Learn from my experience and consciously avoid traveling on OA busses. Especially, Accra-Tamale. Not only do they have no respect for customers, they actually have no regard for the safety and security of their passengers. If they can disregard an instruction from a police officer, and allow a passenger to terrorize another, they’re capable of staging a robbery.
Traveling with OA buses is a deadly Voyage. Avoid it and live long.
Salman Faris Ayuba
O.A Terrorized Victim