Ayalolo buses start using contra-flow lanes into central Accra from Tuesday, 29 September 2026, as the government tries to lure car owners onto public transport days after fares rose 8%.
Under the arrangement announced by the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, selected sections of the Amasaman–Accra, Adenta–Accra and Kasoa–Accra corridors are being set up so that authorised Ayalolo Bus Rapid Transit buses can travel against the normal flow of traffic at peak times. The ministry is working with the police Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), the Greater Accra Passenger Transport Executive (GAPTE), which runs Ayalolo, and the Department of Urban Roads.
Private cars, taxis, trotros, motorbikes and trucks are barred from the lanes during operating hours, and GAPTE has said motorists who use them will be taken to court. The lanes are marked with cones, reflective dividers and road signs, with GAPTE wardens on the routes and MTTD officers at major intersections.
Aimed at the driver in the empty car
Local Government Minister Mahama Ayariga said the scheme is meant mainly to win over commuters who drive alone into the city, not to take business from trotro operators. “What I want to do is to actually take out the car owners,” he said on Monday, arguing that many motorists drive because public transport is not fast or predictable enough.
The timing adds weight to the effort. Approved transport fares rose 8% from Saturday, 26 September, taking the highest intra-city trotro fare to GH¢36.80. The Ghana Private Road Transport Union and the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council have warned that drivers who charge above the approved rates face union sanctions, but commuters on routes such as Kasoa, Pokuase and Adenta have long complained of drivers splitting journeys and charging more than once.
Details still unsettled
Official accounts differ on key details. The ministry’s statement lists three corridors and evening hours of 4pm to 8pm. At GAPTE’s briefing on Monday, officials described a pilot on four corridors, adding Pokuase, with evening operation from 4pm to 7pm. All sources agree on a morning window from 6am to 9am, with one outlet reporting 5am.
GAPTE said it chose the corridors using Ayalolo ridership data, travel-time surveys and congestion mapping carried out between January and August 2026. Pickup points include Amasaman, Achimota and Kwame Nkrumah Circle on the Amasaman corridor; Kasoa Main Station, Tuba Junction, Old Barrier, Weija Barrier and Kaneshie First Light on the Kasoa corridor; and Adenta Barrier, Madina Junction, Legon and 37 Hospital on the Adenta corridor.
Neither the ministry nor GAPTE has said how many buses will run on each corridor, or exactly where each contra-flow section begins and ends.
Ayalolo was launched in 2016 as Accra’s first bus rapid transit service. The dedicated lanes that once let its buses bypass traffic between Circle and Tesano were not sustained, and the buses have largely run in general traffic since.
