Thousands of Accra commuters travel daily in commercially licensed minibuses displaying valid roadworthy certificates despite visible structural deterioration, raising urgent questions about Ghana’s vehicle inspection regime as the rainy season intensifies.
Vehicles with leaking roofs, rust-eaten floors, broken seats, dangling doors and exposed corroded metal interiors continue to operate legally across the capital, each carrying a roadworthiness sticker issued by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA). The contradiction has grown harder to ignore as the peak rainy window between May and June exposes the true condition of the fleet to passengers in real time.
Trotros serve an estimated 70 percent of Ghana’s daily commuting population, making them the de facto backbone of urban mobility rather than merely one transport option among many. The sector employs hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians spanning drivers, conductors, vehicle owners, mechanics, and informal traders at terminals. The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) accounts for the majority of passenger movements across inter-city and intra-city routes. Yet the fleet underpinning this critical system consists largely of refurbished second-hand minibuses imported from Europe and Asia and converted for commercial use, many operating well beyond their serviceable lifespan.
At the centre of public concern is a specific regulatory gap. Mr. Jerry Afablo, Ashanti Regional DVLA Director, has confirmed that drivers are known to remove illegal vehicle modifications before inspections and reinstall them afterwards, a pattern that industry observers say extends to the temporary patching of structural defects before certification assessments. The DVLA’s mandate, established under Act 569 of 1999, requires the promotion of good driving standards and the use of roadworthy vehicles. Critics argue that mandate is currently being honoured more on paper than in practice. The authority had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
Abass Ibrahim Moro, Public Relations Officer of the GPRTU, acknowledged operator awareness of vehicle modifications and attributed the broader maintenance problem to rising operating costs and economic limitations, adding that the union lacks adequate knowledge of the long-term health impacts on passengers travelling in deteriorated conditions.
The safety data demands attention. In 2025 alone, Ghana recorded 14,743 road traffic crashes resulting in 2,949 fatalities. The Road Traffic Amendment Act, passed that same year, introduced tighter limits on blood alcohol levels and mandated child restraints. Transport analysts note, however, that the structural degradation of the commercial fleet has yet to attract equivalent legislative urgency.
At some terminals across Accra, drivers have resorted to providing passengers with headpans, plastic chairs, and plastic bags as improvised weather protection during trips. For low and middle-income commuters who depend on trotros as their only affordable option, the question is no longer one of inconvenience. It is one of public safety and regulatory accountability.
Transport policy experts and civil society groups are calling for unannounced spot inspections, mandatory structural assessments during wet conditions, and stronger penalties for operators found to have misrepresented vehicle condition at certification. They are urging the DVLA, the Ghana Standards Authority, and the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) to treat the matter with the urgency the rainy season now demands.
