The Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga, has disclosed that the government’s planned expansion of Aayalolo Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) services is aimed largely at getting private car users to switch to public transport rather than displacing trotro operators.
He said the government did not expect the introduction of the contra-flow arrangement on major corridors to collapse the trotro business, arguing that there would remain significant demand for commercial transport services.
“I don’t think so. I actually don’t think so,” Ayariga said on Eyewitness News on Monday, 28 September 2026.
The Local Government Minister said the government’s focus was to provide private motorists with a reliable and comfortable alternative to driving into Accra, particularly during peak hours.
He said many motorists currently choose to use private vehicles because existing public transport services do not provide the speed, convenience and predictability they need for their daily journeys.
“What I want to do is to actually take out the car owners who every morning, you’re standing by the roadside, they are going to work, and you see one person sitting in the car,” he said.
According to Mahama Ayariga, a reliable Aayalolo service could encourage such commuters to leave their cars at home by offering faster journeys into the city.
“If you gave them an alternative, which is a clean, you know, rapid transport system, a bus where he goes, he doesn’t have to sweat; he just stands. And in 15, 20 minutes, he is at Accra Central,” he said.
He said the fixed departure times planned for Aayalolo would also allow commuters to organise their schedules around predictable journey times.
Ayariga argued that the continued demand for transport between major destinations would ensure that trotro operators remained relevant despite the expanded Aayalolo service.
“I don’t see how that will collapse the transport system because there’s still a lot of work for transport stations in between the two far ends,” he said.
The government is scheduled to introduce the contra-flow arrangement on Tuesday, 29 September, on the Adenta–Accra, Kasoa–Accra and Amasaman–Accra corridors during peak hours.
The arrangement is intended to allow Aayalolo buses to use designated lanes in the opposite direction of normal traffic flow to bypass congestion and improve journey times into Accra’s Central Business District.
