When transport becomes exploitation: Growing burden on Ghanaian commuters

There is something fundamentally wrong when a hardworking Ghanaian spends more on getting to work than on feeding their family.

Yet this is the harsh reality we face today.

Our transport system has degenerated into a free-for-all in which drivers make their own rules, and passengers are left completely defenceless.

I have watched with growing dismay as what should be a regulated public service has become a playground for exploitation. 

The evidence is everywhere: in the frustrated faces of commuters at lorry stations, in the heated arguments on buses, and most painfully, in the empty pockets of workers at month’s end.

Normalising lawlessness

Let me be blunt: our transport sector operates in flagrant defiance of the law, and we have collectively shrugged our shoulders. Regulatory bodies announce fare adjustments based on fuel prices, yet these directives might as well be written in invisible ink.

The “journey-breaking” scam perfectly illustrates this failure.

When a driver boards passengers knowing full well his destination is Kaneshie, but suddenly declares last stop at Odorkor only to reload and charge fresh fares, that is not enterprise; it is theft.

It is calculated fraud executed in broad daylight, and our silence makes us complicit. 

What baffles me is how this has become normal. A passenger boards a vehicle and, instead of paying a fixed price, must negotiate as if haggling over tomatoes at the market.

The desperate need to reach one’s destination eventually forces capitulation, but this is not how modern transport should operate.

Mathematics of misery

Consider this sobering calculation: if a worker earning GH₵1,000 monthly spends GH₵700 on transport, they have a mere 30 per cent of their income left for rent, food, health
care, and education. This is not a sustainable equation; it is a fast track to perpetual poverty.

Transport exploitation is one of the most underestimated barriers to economic progress in Ghana.

We talk about poverty reduction, yet ignore that mobility costs are pushing employed citizens into destitution.

We demand workplace productivity, yet workers arrive at work already exhausted and financially stressed from their commutes.

The psychological toll is equally severe.Starting each day arguing with drivers and calculating whether you can afford basic survival creates a constant state of anxiety that strips away human dignity and diminishes our quality of life.

Regulatory complicity

It is time to say plainly what everyone knows: our transport regulatory institutions have failed.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), transport unions, and local governments have the legal mandate to bring order to this chaos, yet they consistently choose comfort over duty. I do not accept the excuse that drivers are difficult to control.

Other countries manage regulated transport systems effectively; the difference is political will.

When violations carry no penalties, official directives become mere suggestions that profit-driven drivers freely ignore.

Transport unions bear heavy responsibility here.

Supposedly existing to enforce industry standards, many have become toothless entities more interested in collecting dues than disciplining wayward members.

When a driver openly defies fare structures and the union does nothing, that union has abandoned its purpose.

When over 70  per cent of a worker’s salary disappears into transit costs, it is not a minor inconvenience; it is an economic crisis demanding urgent government intervention.

We need decisive action on three fronts:

First, establish a functional enforcement mechanism with real teeth. Drivers who overcharge should face substantial fines, and repeat offenders must have their vehicles impounded.

Second, leverage technology. We live in a digital age, yet our transport system operates as if it were 1950. Implementing mandatory digital pricing boards or simple SMS systems for reporting violations is entirely feasible today.

Third, empower passengers. Highly visible public education campaigns about official fares will shift the power dynamic back to the commuter.

Ultimately, this issue transcends transport; it touches the core of what kind of society we want to build.

The current situation serves only unscrupulous drivers who profit from chaos. 

Everyone else loses: workers lose their income, families lose their standard of living, businesses lose productive employees, and our nation loses economic potential. Ghana’s resetting agenda in this area is a necessity.

We are capable of better.

We have the regulations and institutions to create a fair system; what we lack is the collective outrage to demand change and the political courage to enforce it. 

We can continue down this path of normalised extortion, or we can decide that enough is enough.

Our government must recognise that when transport becomes exploitation, it threatens the economic survival of the very people our nation depends upon.

The writer is a Lecturer, 
Accra Technical University.