The Best Transport Reforms That Could Improve Accra

From institutional overhaul to dedicated BRT lanes — the policy choices that could finally break the gridlock

Executive Introduction

Accra’s traffic crisis is not a capacity problem. It is a governance and strategy problem . The city records about 2.77 billion trips annually, with an estimated 1.91 billion car trips in the core area . Yet every year, congestion costs Ghana’s economy an estimated GH¢4.5 billion — GH¢3.2 billion in lost time, GH¢434 million in wasted fuel, and GH¢815 million in stress-related productivity losses .

The solutions are not mysterious. They exist in comparable cities across the world. What Accra lacks is not policy ideas, but the institutional will and coordination to implement them. This ASJ report identifies the most promising transport reforms that could improve Accra, drawing on expert analysis, regulatory frameworks, and the lessons of past failures.

Part 1: Institutional Reform — The Missing Foundation

The Accra City Transportation Authority

The most critical reform is institutional. A 2026 policy brief by CUTS International argues that Accra’s governance fragmentation is the root cause of its transport crisis .

Between 1989 and 2017, Accra moved from one assembly to about twenty-four. Decentralisation itself is not the problem. The challenge lies in running transportation policy in silos in a city where most residents commute daily toward one central business district .

As Appiah Kusi Adomako, Director of the West Africa Regional Centre of CUTS International, put it: “You cannot run a single city with multiple transport decision centers working in isolation. Urban movement does not respect political boundaries. Planning must follow how people live and commute” .

The solution: Establish an Accra City Transportation Authority with legal power to plan routes, terminals, and services across all assemblies . This authority would:

• Plan routes centrally using census and mobility data

• Control frequency and service standards

• Enforce route-based licensing under the Road Traffic Regulation 2012 (LI 2180)

• Coordinate investment in dedicated lanes, terminals, and modern public transport systems

Cities across the world plan transport centrally. London operates through thirty-two boroughs, yet Transport for London coordinates the entire system . Accra needs a similar structure with statutory funding and fixed terms that do not expire with each administration .

The Cost of Inaction

As CUTS warned, “When transport fails, the city fails” . Without reform, the procurement of new buses—however welcome—will only provide temporary relief. “Procurement is necessary, but procurement alone will fail. Without policy reform, coordination, and strong institutions, the same crisis will return within a few years and many of these buses will end up as scrap” .

Part 2: Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) — The Corridor Approach

The Aayalolo Lesson

Accra has attempted BRT before. The Aayalolo Bus Service was launched in 2016 with roughly $95 million in international funding . The vision was sound: dedicated lanes, scheduled departures, and electronic payment. What followed is a cautionary tale in Ghanaian infrastructure policy.

The dedicated lanes were never built. The government purchased nearly three times more buses than recommended. Successive administrations neglected the system . By 2025, Aayalolo drivers were observed stopping indiscriminately on the Accra-Nsawam highway, competing directly with tro-tros .

Aayalolo is not proof that BRT cannot work in Ghana. It is proof that without physically separated lanes, institutional independence, and continuity across administrations, no bus system will ever justify its investment .

The Roadmap for BRT Success

An Africa Policy Research Institute (APRI) policy brief identifies what is needed for successful BRT implementation in Ghana :

1. Institutional reform: Urban development and transport planning are handled in isolation, with minimal coordination between agencies. The Project Advisory Office established to coordinate BRT lacked statutory authority to align mandates, plans, or budgets across institutions .

2. Dedicated infrastructure: Without physically separated lanes, no BRT system can achieve its objectives. The inability to provide dedicated infrastructure prevented the Aayalolo system from achieving full BRT benchmarks .

3. Stakeholder engagement: Stakeholder resistance from paratransit transport unions was a critical barrier. Limited consultations and negotiations with paratransit operators contributed to conflicting opinions and perceptions, creating uncertainty among transport operators and property owners along the corridor .

4. Sustainable funding: Future BRT initiatives require sustainable funding through taxation, property development from the private sector, and land value capture instruments .

The Best Candidate Corridor

A 2026 transport policy brief identifies the Mallam-Kasoa corridor as the strongest candidate for the first fully operational BRT corridor . The advice is direct: build the physical lane. Enforce it legally. Create an independent authority to manage it .

The argument for starting with one corridor: Rather than spreading investment thin across multiple corridors, committing to one fully operational BRT corridor—with physically separated lanes, scheduled departures, and strong enforcement—would demonstrate that BRT can work in Ghana. Success on one corridor would build political and public support for expansion.

Part 3: The GAPTE Revitalisation — Coordinating the Existing System

The Greater Accra Passenger Transport Executive (GAPTE), established under the Ghana Urban Transport Project in 2005, has a mandate that spans transport planning, network development, and public transport regulation across the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area .

The 4th Executive Council

In April 2026, the Minister for Local Government inaugurated the 4th Executive Council of GAPTE, charging members to lead transformative reforms . The Minister highlighted that despite Accra contributing 34–39 per cent of Ghana’s GDP, the city’s economic productivity is hampered by an inefficient transport system .

Key priorities for GAPTE:

1. Revitalise the Aayalolo Bus System: The Minister called for its revitalisation to support the government’s 24-hour economy policy through continuous and reliable service delivery .

2. Abandon siloed approaches: The Minister urged members to adopt coordinated, inter-jurisdictional strategies to address mobility and accessibility challenges across Greater Accra .

3. Strengthen inter-agency collaboration: The new Council must prioritise strategic planning and develop innovative solutions to improve transport efficiency and safety .

What GAPTE Cannot Do Alone

The Africa Policy Research Institute notes that GAPTE’s predecessor, the Project Advisory Office, lacked the statutory authority to align mandates, plans, or budgets across institutions . It depended on voluntary cooperation, which proved insufficient to break down entrenched institutional silos .

The lesson: GAPTE must be empowered with real authority, not just coordination responsibilities.

Part 4: Decongesting Kwame Nkrumah Circle — A Simple, Practical Reform

Kwame Nkrumah Circle remains the central transport hub of Accra. Despite the three-tier interchange completed in 2016, the area continues to suffer from heavy congestion, chaotic operations, and safety issues .

The Core Problems

• Too many fragmented tro-tro stations leading to chaotic loading and unloading

• Unregulated tro-tro and taxi operations competing with formal buses

• Inefficient passenger waiting and boarding, contributing to traffic jams and safety risks

• Underutilized potential of mass transit options like Metro Mass and Aayalolo 

The Proposed Reforms

A practical reform proposal from 2026 recommends four straightforward changes :

Expected outcomes: Fewer vehicles idling, passengers always in motion, less traffic and pollution, safer and more orderly environment, and better integration between formal buses and informal feeders .

Part 5: Electric Buses — The AMA’s Metro Vision

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly is planning to introduce what it describes as the city’s first metro transport system, starting with electric buses on major routes at low fares .

The Mayor’s rationale:

• About 70% of trips in Accra are made by public transport, yet road space still largely benefits private car users .

• The move is informed by a deepening mobility crisis, with Accra recording about 2.77 billion trips annually .

• The vision is to build a “modern, mobile Accra” where residents can move freely, reach destinations on time, and breathe cleaner air .

While the electric bus programme is a positive step, the AMA’s longer-term mass transit plan prioritises strategic investment in high-capacity systems for the most congested corridors . The challenge, as with BRT, is ensuring that the buses operate on dedicated infrastructure—not in general traffic.

Part 6: Formalising the Tro-Tro Sector

The tro-tro carries approximately 70 per cent of daily commuters in Accra . It is organically efficient but structurally fragile: vehicles are poorly maintained, safety standards are essentially unenforced, and the “fill-and-run” model means passengers wait indefinitely .

The Reform Agenda

A sequenced strategy for formalising the tro-tro sector includes :

1. Fleet renewal incentives: Tie compliance to incentives for fleet renewal

2. Digital ticketing: Generate planning data through digital payments

3. Route licensing framework: Build a framework with, not against, the GPRTU

The Enforcement Gap

CUTS International notes that the Road Traffic Regulation 2012 (LI 2180) requires private operators to work under defined route-based systems with clear service standards—but this framework remains largely inactive . Assemblies issue permits that apply broadly rather than to specific routes. Drivers choose only high-profit corridors, leaving many routes underserved. In practice, transport unions allocate routes based on influence rather than planning data .

The reform: Strict route-based licensing under LI 2180, using census and mobility data to determine optimal fleet numbers .

Part 7: The Rail Alternative — A 15-to-20-Year Investment

Rail is not a quick fix, but it is essential for Accra’s long-term mobility .

The Tema-Mpakadan line (96.7 km standard-gauge) was inaugurated in November 2024 with $447 million from India’s Exim Bank . It is the first phase of the Ghana-Burkina Faso Railway Interconnectivity Project.

For the Eastern Line (Accra-Kumasi), six international companies have been shortlisted for a $1 billion project to rehabilitate the corridor to standard gauge . If completed, it would reduce a typically six-hour road journey to under three hours.

The reform priority: Begin the Eastern Line rehabilitation in earnest, starting with Accra-Nsawam to build operational capacity before attempting the full Kumasi corridor. Rail is a 15-to-20-year investment horizon, but planting that seed now, with realistic timelines and secure corridor rights-of-way, is non-negotiable for Ghana’s long-term mobility .

Conclusion: The Discipline to Match Ambition with Execution

Accra’s transport crisis is solvable. The reforms are known: an independent Accra City Transportation Authority, dedicated BRT corridors with physically separated lanes, decongestion of Kwame Nkrumah Circle, formalisation of the tro-tro sector, electric buses on major routes, and investment in rail.

The challenge is not identifying the solutions—it is implementing them with discipline and continuity across administrations. As the Glima Research study concluded, “this is not a capacity problem. It is a governance and strategy problem” .

The era of transport announcements without accountability must end . For each reform, the question is not whether it will happen, but which corridor, which timeline, which agency head is responsible, and what are the consequences for failure?

As CUTS International concluded: “Accra does not suffer from a shortage of buses alone. Accra suffers from a shortage of planning, coordination, and political commitment to treat transportation as the lifeline of the city”

Source: Accra Street Journal 

Last Updated on July 21, 2026 by Samuel Kwame Boadu

Samuel Kwame Boadu

Samuel Kwame Boadu is a Ghanaian media entrepreneur and storyteller with a passion for amplifying urban voices and uncovering everyday truths. He is the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Accra Street Journal, a dynamic digital platform dedicated to capturing the pulse of Ghana’s capital—its people, culture, challenges, business, sports and innovations.

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