Accra’s Aayalolo buses currently make around 8000 daily passenger journeys every weekday in the Greater Accra Metropolitan area of Ghana.
But following the recent introduction of the contraflow traffic system for the service, the sector minister, Mahama Ayariga, has set a doubled target of 16,000 daily passenger journeys for the service, which is to be achieved by Christmas 2026.
This is following the successful pilot of the contraflow system in September 2026, which has seen an improved service.
The traffic congestion in the city, which was militating against the effective service of the mass transport system, compelled the Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga spearheaded the introduction of the contraflow system, which is a traffic management setup where vehicles are redirected to travel in the opposite direction of normal flow.
The pilot has been successful following which, the minister has said more buses will be deployed into the contraflow traffic management of the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT).
But even before more buses are added, Mr Ayariga says, the new target could be achieved by increasing the number of trips made by buses on existing routes from the current three to between four and six, depending on passenger demand.
He expressed confidence that the number could double as the festive season approached, provided operators made better use of the existing fleet.
“I am 100 per cent sure that they can do as many as six trips, instead of the three trips,” he said referencing the peak periods in the mornings and evenings.
He was speaking in a radio interview monitored by Graphic Online on Accra based Joy FM on Tuesday (Nov 11, 2026) morning.
Mr Ayariga explained that buses transporting passengers into Accra could return to their loading points without waiting to pick up passengers for the return journey. They could then load more commuters and make another trip.
He said the arrangement would allow operators to increase the number of passengers transported daily without necessarily adding more buses to the fleet.
“If you are doing 8,000 a day now, if we double it, I mean incrementally as we approach Christmas we probably should be doing 16,000 daily,” he said.
The Aayalolo contraflow service operates on major commuter routes linking Kasoa, Amasaman and Adentan to central Accra.
