UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Owner-Drivers in the Tro-Tro Industry: A Look at Jitney Service Provision in Accra, Ghana Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1v7794zw Author Clayborne, Dontraneil Donte Publication Date 2012 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Owner-Drivers in the Tro-Tro Industry: A Look at Jitney Service Provision in Accra, Ghana A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Planning by Dontraneil Donte Clayborne 2012 © Copyright by Dontraneil Donte Clayborne 2012 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Owner-Drivers in the Tro-Tro Industry: A Look at Jitney Service Provision in Accra, Ghana By Dontraneil Donte Clayborne Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Planning University of California, Los Angeles, 2012 Professor Lois Takahashi, Chair This study focuses on the motivations of owner-drivers who participate in the tro- tro industry. Using in-depth interviews, I analyze who drives and owns tro-tros in Accra, Ghana, and why. Owner-drivers were asked to discuss why they participate in the tro-tro industry by offering mass transport services, their attitudes about it, the competition from other transportation options, and why they chose to operate their business where they do. This research examines policy debates about local vehicle travel, privatized transit, informal transit, and informal employment. This study contributes to understanding about the diversity of owner-drivers and how this small, locally-controlled informal private mass transport service (tro-tro) industry is regulated by local and central government agencies in Accra. This research project clarifies the range of entrepreneurial involvement in the supply of tro-tros in Accra by focusing on routes, fares, and vehicle types. The goal of the project is to clarify who operates tro-tro businesses, and the barriers to entry that they face. The results inform policymakers and researchers about the reasons why this informal service industry continues to thrive in Accra, and highlights the conflicts between tro-tro civil society organizations and government agencies over the proposal to expand public sector rapid bus transit systems. ii The dissertation of Dontraneil Donte Clayborne is approved. ___________________________________ Randall Crane ___________________________________ Edmond J. Keller ___________________________________ Vinit Mukhija ___________________________________ Lois M. Takahashi, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2012 iii For Rosslynn, Lester, Ethel, Autry, Vera, Billie, Traveon, Leon, numerous others and our ancestors all of whom are perpetual inspirations. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. Informal Private Mass Transport (Tro-tros) in Accra, Ghana 1 1.2. Public Mass Transport Industry in Africa: Why are Tro-tros Important to Study? 3 1.3. Motivation for Study and Research Questions 5 1.4. Description of Dissertation Chapters 7 2. LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL MODEL 9 2.1. Introduction 9 2.2. Colonialism’s Impact on Development 10 2.2.1 Systematic Nature of the European Colonial (Cultural) Project 10 2.2.2 Colonies Developed To Benefit Colonizers (Metropoles) 16 2.2.3 Legacy of Despotism 20 2.2.4 Colonial ‘Mindstate’ as Motivation and Justification for Imperialism 22 2.2.5 Colonial Economy Has a Long-Term Developmental Impact 26 2.3. Post-Colonial Development 28 2.3.1 Problematic of Post-Colonialism 30 2.3.2 Liberation Theorists of the Developing World 33 2.3.3 Post-Colonialism and Globalization: Positive and Negative Outcomes and Potentials 35 2.4. Informal Transportation in the Developing World 37 2.4.1 Informality and Development 38 2.4.2 Private and Informal Transport in Developing Nations 49 v 2.5. Regulation of Informal Transport in the Developing World 54 2.6. Gaps in the Literature Addressed by this Study 57 2.7. The Case of Accra, Ghana, Informal Mass Transportation, and Regulation 59 3. COLONIALIST AND POST-COLONIALIST GOVERNANCE IN GHANA 68 3.1. Introduction 68 3.2. Pre-Colonial Governance of Road Transport 70 3.3. Colonialist Governance: Railways First (early 1900s-1930s) 78 3.4. Indigenous Participation, Political Change and Its Impact on Transport Provision 91 3.5. Colonialist Governance during Decolonization 93 3.6. Post-colonial Transportation Governance in Ghana 96 3.7. 1970s 104 3.8. 1980s 107 3.9. 1990s 110 4. DRIVERS AS TRANSPORTATION ENTREPRENEURS: TRO-TRO OWNER-DRIVERS IN ACCRA, GHANA 113 4.1. Introduction 113 4.2. Data and Methods 118 4.2a. Sampling Frame and Design 118 4.2b. Semi-Structured Interview Guide and Pilot Testing 126 4.2c. Translation, Field Challenges, and Informed Consent 127 4.3 Demographics 129 vi 4.4 Entry into Tro-tro Industry 132 4.5. Opportunity and Conditions (Structure of the Industry) 135 4.6. Operations and Competition for Ridership 143 4.7. Market Barriers and Regulation 150 4.8. Summary of Results 154 5. GOVERNMENT RE-ENTERS MUNICIPAL PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION 157 5.1. Introduction 157 5.2. Data and Methods 160 5.3. Government Re-Entry into Municipal Public Transportation 162 5.4. Proposed ‘Superbus System’: (Bus Rapid Transit) 169 5.5. Transportation Re-Regulation 170 5.6. Recent Public Mass Transport Problems: Ghana Private Roads Transport Union’s Resistance to Regulation 176 5.6.1. Stakeholder Conflict: Physical Altercation between GPRTU and GRTCC 178 5.7. Summary of Results 182 6. CONCLUSION 184 6.1. Summary of Major Findings 184 6.2. Implications of Findings for Policy 186 6.3. Future Research 188 Bibliography 191 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: Traditional Transport Perceptions 62 Figure 2.2: Descriptive Catalog of Informal Transport Service Measures: Dependent variables 63 Figure 2.3: Descriptive Catalog of Informal Transport Service Measure: Independent variables 64 Figure 2.4: Key Supply Measures of the Tro-tro Industry 67 Figure 3.1: Centralization of Governance by the Government of Ghana 106 Figure 4.1: Industry Stakeholders in the Tro-tro Industry 117 Figure 4.2: Location of the four selected tro-tro stations in the Greater Accra metropolitan 120 Figure 4.3: Accra (Tema) Station 121 Figure 4.4: Kaneshie Station 122 Figure 4.5: Madina Station 123 Figure 4.6: Madina Station (south) 124 Figure 4.7: 37-Military Hospital Station 125 Figure 5.1: Transportation Governance Chronology (1969-1980s) 163 Figure 5.2: Transportation Governance Chronology (1990s-2000s) 164 Figure 5.3: Ministry of Roads and Highways Organization Chart 167 Figure 5.4: Ministry of Transportation Organization Chart 168 viii LIST OF ACRONYMS AFRC Armed Forces Revolutionary Council AMA Accra Metropolitan Authority ATMA Accra-Tema Metropolitan Area BRT Bus Rapid Transit CPP Convention People’s Party DUR Department of Urban Roads ECOWAS The Economic Community of West Africa States ERP Economic Recovery Programme GPRTU Ghana Private Roads Transport Union (established 1938) GoG Government of Ghana GRTCC Ghana Roads Transport Coordinating Committee IDS Institute of Development Studies ILO International Labour Organization LA Licensing Authority MDG Millennium Development Goals MMDA Metropolitan/Municipal/District assemblies MMT Metro Mass Transport Company MoT Ministry of Transportation MRH Ministry of Roads and Highways MR&T Ministry of Roads and Transport MRT Ministry of Road Transport MTC Ministry of Transport and Communications NDC National Democratic Congress NLC National Liberation Council NPP New Patriotic Party NRC National Redemption Council OS Omnibus Services OSA Omnibus Services Authority PNDC Provisional National Defence Council PNP People’s National Party PP Progress Party PROTOA Progressive Transport Owners Association SAP Structural Adjustment Program (World Bank) SMC Supreme Military Council STA State Transportation Authority TRP I First Transport Rehabilitation Project TRP II Second Transport Rehabilitation Project TUC Trade Union Congress UNDP United Nations Development Program ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deep appreciation and gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Lois Takahashi, for the patient guidance and mentorship she provided to me, all the way from when I took a course with her during Year 2, through to completion of this degree. Dr. Takahashi’s intellectual range is matched only by her good nature and humility, and I am truly fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with her. I would also like to thank my committee members, Drs. Randall Crane, Edmond Keller and Vinit Mukhija for the friendly guidance, thought-provoking suggestions, and support each of them offered to me over the years. In a similar vein, I’d like to recognize Drs. Abel Valenzuela, Stephen Commins, Edward Soja, Michael Storper and Michael Stoll for the contributions that each of them made to my intellectual growth during my years of study at the University of California, Los Angeles. Next I would like to thank the following institutions that provided important financial support at different points in this process: UCLA Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship, West African Research Association Fellowship, UCLA Urban Planning Department, UCLA Center for Policy Studies, UCLA Graduate Division, and the Urban Institute. Finally, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the sacrifices made by my family in supporting me during critical periods while I pursued this final degree. x VITA EDUCATION: M.A. in History, Department of History, Howard University, 1998 Thesis: Ethnicity and Governance