My International trip on STC - The good, bad and ugly

For the last couple of months, I had been hearing from a few friends that the State Transport Company (STC) was very much improved from its almost collapsed state and was now performing creditably.

This, for me, was good news, and when my friends said we would be using STC for our trip to Abidjan, I had no qualms about it. I thought, from what I’ve been hearing; comfortable buses with charging ports, free Wi-Fi, and toilets on board, the 10 or so-hour journey from Accra to Abidjan should be quite comfortable.

The journey from Accra to Abidjan was quite uneventful, excepting a few hitches.

First, there was only a slight delay in departure, by about 30 minutes, which I thought was not too bad for GMT (Ghana Man Time).

Then there was the refusal by the staff to allow passengers to keep their hand luggage in the overhead compartments which, by the way,  were intended for that very purpose. Their explanation; putting bags there would spoil the lights in the compartments, and when we insisted, they took offence.

In spite of this, the journey was smooth, with only short delays at the borders, so when we booked our return journey from Abidjan on STC, I didn’t think we would have any trouble; I was to be sorely disappointed.

We got to the terminal in Abidjan early in the morning and had to wait for our luggage to be weighed, paid for, and loaded. I wondered whether all the bags of rice and other items packed at the station were going to be taken to Accra or whether they were brought from Accra.

Boarding & seats

When the time came for us to board the bus, not only did they change my seat number, but we went on board only to discover that they had stacked luggage against the back door  of the bus, which is supposed to serve as the emergency exit, and tied it up with a rope.

This left a small space for passengers whose seats were in the back to squeeze through to get to their seats, with the stack of bags in front of them. All because a large part of the luggage space below the bus had been occupied with bags of rice, and other items, leaving a little space for bags belonging to some traders on board.

Officials of the company, instead of rectifying the situation when passengers complained, rather used an extra piece of thin rope to tie up the bags to prevent them from falling on passengers during the journey.

This led to a heated exchange between the officials and my friends, including a couple with their three young children aboard, causing a delay of about 30 minutes before departure from Abidjan.

The questions I asked myself were: Why will a company struggling to regain its lost glory still insist on doing things in the same way that led to its near collapse? Does STC care about the safety of its passengers as its slogan “We take you there safely” says? What will happen in the case of an emergency, such as a fire on board, if there is a mountain of luggage tied up against the emergency door? Why in the first place is there more luggage than the luggage compartment of the bus could contain? Is the little money made from charging traders to carry goods more important than passengers’ safety and convenience?

In a bid to find out if other passengers have had similar experiences, I Google searched “STC Ghana customer experience” and came up with an article titled ‘How safe is STC?” Written almost a year ago by Kwesi Yirenkyi Boateng. The same things he complained about are what still persist.

Learning lessons

It seems STC has not learnt any lessons to improve its customer service and to guarantee safety. The company must not wait till the worst happens before seeking to address these issues. Do so now!

With the prevailing limited airlines operating regional routes and the high air fares road transport companies such as the STC stand to gain a lot from offering services with high standards that can provide passengers safety and convenience.

It can diversify its services to run cargo fleets if it so desires, but for an over 12-hour journey, passengers’ safety and convenience should never be compromised. How seriously the company takes and treats its customers will determine if STC can regain its lost glory and if it can deliver on its brand promise of “We Take You There Safely”.

On the other hand, passengers should stop condoning such behaviour. Traders must find alternative and better ways of transporting their goods instead of using passenger buses. A recurring argument from officials, as well as from the passengers whose goods had taken up the space below, was that it was a normal practice.
These were the passengers who thought that we were making too much of a fuss over the situation, and as long as we continue to think this is right, and continue to look on, these practices will persist.

I suggest that STC should also institute a minimum baggage allowance per passenger as done on flights to help curb this practice.