Trotro (Ghana)
*Alias "Troski"
*Pronounced: "Traw-traw" (like the word 'draw')
Private-owned buses and vans that act as the biggest and cheapest means of inter-city mass
transportation in Ghana. The buses are typically minibuses or vans, with the most popular being Nissan Urvan 15-seaters and Mercedes Benz Sprinter or D 309 vans. Seating arrangements typically include:
• two "front seats" up by the driver's seat
• about 4 rows of longer bench seats with the bus conductor (called the "Mate") at the seat closest to the vehicle door.
The word may have been derived from the Ga (Gà) word "tro" meaning "pesewa" (the smallest unit of Ghanaian currency), given the trotro's status as a cheap means of
transportation.
Trotros are typically decorated with flags and stickers of various countries or (local and
international) soccer teams, and with witty sayings, wisecracks, local proverbs or Bible verses printed on the bus's rear.
---
1. How did you
get here? / I took a trotro.
2. His day couldn't
have been worse. While waiting in that heavy downpour to grab a taxi, he was assailed with mud and
dirty rain water by a speeding trotro. To Boat's annoyance, the only "apology" he got from the mate's mouth was an energetic "Circ-Kanesh."
