Climbing the Kwahu Mountains - Camboo takes over from Tico
It is a cacophony of activities at Nkawkaw in the Kwahu West municipality. Although the sun was hot, the ancient town was bursting at the seams with vehicular and human traffic everywhere.
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The closeness of both vehicles and people struggling for space on the narrow streets of the town reminded one of what pertains in the Central Business District of Accra, where there never seems to be enough space for both vehicular and human traffic on a daily basis.
Due to its central position to the Kwahu Ridge and proximity to the Ashanti Region, Nkawkaw (pronounced nkokor) is always alive with people in transit.
An uphill task
It has always literally been an uphill task climbing the famed Kwahu Mountains from Nkawkaw, especially for visitors, even after the main access road had been diverted. Some first-timers seek the help of taxi drivers to make the journey uphill.
However, one faithful companion that has aided the taxi drivers who ply the ridge over the years has been the Daewoo Tico, a mini car which has been the preferred vehicle to mount the steep and winding slopes of the Kwahu Mountain.
Taxis
The Tico has, thus, become one striking feature of the town, and is used as taxis, both within the Nkawkaw township and up the Kwahu Ridge. It does not take long for the first-timer to notice that most taxis are very small cars belonging to the Daewoo family.
Daewoo Ticos are a very old brand of cars introduced into Ghana over 20 years ago, but they still thrive in the Nkawkaw township as taxis, although their numbers have reduced over the years. They are gradually being taken over by another Daewoo brand – the Matiz II.
In a chat with a station master at the Nkawkaw–Pankesi taxi station, Mr Kwabena Gyimah said: “Ticos are many here because of two key qualities - their good fuel consumption and their ability to climb the mountain quickly.”
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He stated that what had also contributed to the continuous use of Ticos as taxis were the availability of spare parts for maintenance and the low maintenance costs of the vehicle. The licence plate number of the oldest taxi at the station was given as GT 813 A.
Revenue during Easter
Mr Gyimah told the Daily Graphic that during normal periods, drivers could not make much sales, but his eyes gleamed as he spoke of the revenue taxi drivers were able to make during the Easter festivities.
“During Easter, the money we make is quite substantial. In a day, a driver is able to make at least GH¢150. On very good days some passengers hire the taxi for even better revenue for you the driver to be very happy,” he said.
Matiz replacing Tico
Mr Gyimah stated that “this time we are changing the type of vehicle we are using as taxis in Kwahu. It is the Matiz that is reigning here in the Kwahu West municipality. When you look at the taxis plying the road you see that we now have more Daewoo Matiz than Ticos,” he stated.
Another station master, Mr Kofi Sammy, said during Easter and other occasions, the taxi stations and drivers were kept very busy with the large influx of visitors into the town.
“They really patronise our taxis and make us all very happy and everyone is able to make substantial savings.”
Referring to the Matiz as Camboo, he confirmed that more and more taxi drivers were now using that type of car which was performing very well on the terrain.
He expressed high hopes that come the Easter festivities, taxi drivers would rake in good revenue.
Other cars in vogue as taxis in Nkawkaw include the Nissan March and the KIA Pride.