Early in the morning locals fill the streets dressed in their best work attire. Men wear shiny dress shoes paired with a suit and tie. Women walk down the street in patterned dresses and skirts. The bright reds, yellows, and blues of people’s clothing dot the city. Before they reach the office these people have one destination to get to first; the tro-tro stop.

Tro-tros are the main form of public transportation in Accra. They are Ghana’s glorified minivans. The system is organized chaos. Each tro-tro has a driver and a mate. The driver’s jobs is to swerve recklessly through traffic, only stopping when the mate pounds on the side of the van. The mates job is to collect money and get people to hop on the tro-tro. Rather than labeling the tro-tro’s route, mates hang out the window of the van yelling in scratchy voices the final destination. The vans themselves are in serious disrepair. The sliding doors are often on the verge of falling off the car, tied down to the interior with rope. Loose wiring hangs in unexpected places. Scratches and dents cover the grey exterior of the car. There is a free market for tro-tros, so anyone can own one and put their car into the system.

The people walking the streets, dressed in their best work attire, then stuff themselves 25 people to a van. With the tro-tro packed so tightly the air gets stuffy and hot fast. Outer seats are monopolized due to their proximity to the window. The traffic turns what should be a quick 5 mile trip into an arduous hour and a half. Despite the discomforts, the tro-tros feel like an important part of Accra culture. The chaos and urgency of the mates bring liveliness to the daily commute. The proximity to other people all heading to work in the morning or back home at night creates a sense of unity. With so many tro-tros patrolling the streets no one ever has to wait long to catch a ride. The tro-tros feel like an irreplaceable part of Accra culture.