.ACHIMOTA BUS TERMINAL

Story by Daniel Lartey

A visit to the Achimota bus terminal may depict an ultra modern GH¢ 16.5 million facility which has a capacity for 800 hundred vehicles, a police station, a clinic, four 20- unit toilet facility and 10 canteens. Other facilities are electronic destination boards, waiting sheds for commuters, offices for local drivers unions and close circuit television cameras to rack illegal activities. Research has indicated that the station by all standards is the biggest on the West coast of Africa.

But has this natural pride served its purpose?  Is it being utilized by the people? Many have said that the station is a thing of beauty, so artistically designed and in such orderly manner that it is easier for one to find a vehicle to his destination without difficulty. Once again I ask, is this assertion true?

In many towns and cities, a bus terminal is a hub of so many activities like social interactions and provides linkage to other destinations. The story however is not so for the people of Achimota as majority of commuters have predominantly refused to make use of the station rather, they are used to boarding cars from the shoulders of the area where the previous station was located.

What is perhaps more interesting is the daily combat between some passengers and a group of individuals who call themselves AMA task force as the latter forcefully and violently arrest these recalcitrant offenders who wouldn’t give in for reasons not far fetched.

I have questions on my mind, do these so called AMA task forces actually send these offenders to their offices or they just take some couple of cedis for a pardon fee – A prerogative of mercy under the cover of  the cedi.
The people of Achimota have vehemently complained of walking the long distance to the new station.  More so, a couple of passengers who spoke to me pointed out “there are no waiting vehicles in the station and we have to wait for about one hour before a single car will surface, (thereby making the section of the road between Apenkwa and Achimota new overpass the most lucrative for these individuals) but we get immediate access to cars at the road sides”.

I noticed a road sign indicating a bus stop at the area opposite the old station as the trotro and taxi drivers fight their accusers pointing at the road sign which does not seem to make any meaning to these AMA task-forces. 

Whether the reasons that there are no cars at the station or the location of the station is too far should be an excuse enough to boycott these costive facilities is a question  to the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU),  and the AMA to answer.

Indeed, the need to ban and limit parking along the good number of the city’s streets can not be over emphasized in this era where we all cry for a congestion free Accra and if not for anything; the provision of a bus shed with seats to accommodate waiting passengers from the heat of the sun among others.

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