Travel in Togo

In the US we take getting around for granted. Most people have cars. Others, like me who at 23 is still licenseless, use public transportation to get where they need to go. Paved roads connect almost every house, shopping mall, and school.

In Togo there is one paved road that runs from the capitol in the south to the most northern border with Burkina Faso. There is nothing else. If you turn off this main road you turn onto pot-holed, dirt roads that can become impassible during the rainy season.

To make travel in this country even more difficult imagine a population that can not afford to send their children to school for $8 a year. Then ask yourself if that population owns cars.

There is no public transportation. There are no local airports, no local or national bus routes, no subway systems. The way people get around here is a wonderful thing called a bush taxi. In my opinion it is wonderful wonderful capitalism at work at its best. In a market economy if there is a need of a service, that need is filled by an individual who hopes to profit.

A bush taxi in its simplest form is a car that drives along the national route picking people up along the way and then dropping them off along the route closer to their final destination. That sounds fine.

In reality bush taxis are cars that have been out of service in the US or Europe since the late 80s that are shipped to Africa and sold for a couple hundred dollars. These are held together and driven until they literally FALL apart on the side of the road. I was once in a bush taxi that had to stop 4 times to pick up different pieces of the car that had fallen (muffler, hub-cap, some pipe from under the car, and a strip of metal about 6 inches long… Guess none were that important.)

It makes sense for a driver to want to fill his car as full as he can with people. I have been in a basic 4 door sedan that is meant for 5 (driver plus 4) filled with upwards of 11 to 12 people. That works out to 4 up front (two in the driver's seat and two in the passenger seat… sometimes three in the passenger seat) and anywhere from 5-7 people (and we arnt talking small children… We are talking full grown adults) jammed into the back. There are also larger passenger type vans that normally hold 15 people. They have the front section (cab) and then 4 rows of benches. I have seen these cars filled with as many as 30 people. There are no seat belts, no air-conditioning, and only rarely a window that will open. You have no idea how after being crammed into the back seat with 5 other people for 4 hours you CRAVE the luxury of Economy Class flight.

For example, if I want to travel to see my friend who lives 40k away I walk to the main road. I stand and wait for a bush taxi to pass in the direction I want to go (there are only two ways to go in a place with only one road.) He stops, I jam into whatever space I can find and we are off. It takes a car about 25 – 30 minutes to travel 40k (about 25 miles) in the US. Now imagine that you were driving a bush taxi where you have to stop every few miles to "show your papers" (wink wink) to the police at a checkpoint, not drive over 30 miles an hour for fear of hitting one of the pot holes (craters), and stopping every few minutes to pick up or drop someone off. That normally 30 minute car ride turns into a hellish two hours. Try to imagine not being able to get out of a crouching position for hours at a time. For the longer trips (it takes about 6 hours to get to the capitol from my city) there are no bathrooms. Every once in a while the car will pull over next to a field and everyone (women included) get out and do their business.

While it is never fun to be stuck in a car with 29 other people, 4 chickens, and a goat it is amazingly interesting. No one complains. It is just the way life goes.

23 comments:

wayndres said...

Hey Aaron, bravo for you in your work. I did several trips to Romania back in the early to middle 90's right after their revolution. Makes you appreciatte and be frustrated with the US at the same time. Look I was wondering if you'd consider uploading some of you videos to our new site that is focusing on videos that INSPIRE people to do good and show the good things of life. We would love to feature them and our site helps people to not have to sort through the junk to find the good. Anyway your work is important and stay strong. Click to UPLOAD your video!

Krista K. said...

Wow, makes me feel grateful to how I am able to get around in my own third world country of St Kitts. Although some things are the same (few paved roads, all with "craters" embedded every 10 feet) I am now a bit more grateful for my beat up toyota. Thanks for the insight.

ylis said...

Your account of life in your village is very thought provoking. It makes me realise even more, how lucky we are in the west. I'll keep on reading....

Bob said...

Hi Aaron,
I visited a PCV in Benin, 1996 for 2 weeks. One week in her large village without running water or electricity. The visit changed my view of our culture. We hired our own 'bush' taxis throughout the trip. I saw taxis that you described. I throughly enjoyed reading your 'bush' taxi experince. Wishing you the very best and great success in your work. There is a special place in my heart for PCVs.

Anonymous said...

I'm an American college student who just got back from 5 months working at a hospital in Accra - during my time there some friends and I took two weeks and traveled through Togo and Benin to Agadez, Niger (PS It's worth it, if you have the time). I just read your post describing 'bush taxis' and you absolutely summed up the (character-building??) horror that is public transportation in West Africa. How many days have I spent on the side of a hot, dusty village road without clean water, waiting for the bus/Peugot/trotro to be fixed? We talked to a young couple on our trip who had spent a year traveling the world - they had literally been EVERYWHERE traveling on the cheap. West Africa was their last stop and they confirmed my suspicions that public transportation doesn't get much worse that that!!! Oh well, it's worth it. People there are the most giving, generous, amazing folks I've ever encountered. They don't have anything, but they are more happy and content than most Americans are, even with their McMansions and SUVs... there's my rant. Safe travels!!!

Unknown said...

never been to Togo, but ur entry heLped me aLot..anyways u enjoyed ur Trip :) thats reaLLy Great :)
here is a piece of advice for u from me that wud really help u in ur upcoming Trips, Light load Beach Towels are the world’s only beach Towels that fit in your pocket. They are more absorbent than cotton beach towels and can be used as a wind or winter scarf in cold wet conditions. Great for travel or any activity that requires packing light.
Check it out @ ultralighttowels(dot)com
I can bet u wiLL reaLLy find it useful :)

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