45 Aayalolo Buses Set To Begin Trips From Adenta

The Greater Accra Passenger Transport Executive (GAPTE), managers of the Quality Bus system (QBS), popularly known as ‘Aayalolo’, will soon extend its operations to Adenta, a suburb of Accra.

The QBS, which started in October 2016, plying the Amasaman to Accra stretch, has been fraught with a lot of challenges, especially with the limited designated lanes.

Over 100 of the 245 Aayalolo buses imported into the country, were reported to be sitting idle since 2016, because other corridors which are supposed to be developed for the QBS are yet to be implemented.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday, the GAPTE Communications Manager, Fred Tsidi said some government officials were expected to inspect the facility, located close to Madina on Friday.

“…So we are just ready for the Minister to come in tomorrow [Friday], to inspect the facility and after that, they will determine when we should roll out,” Mr. Tsidi stated.

45 buses are set to be deployed on the Adenta-Accra route, and it would be scaled up gradually, much like the Amasaman to Accra route, which started with 28 buses, but is now up to 58 buses.

The QBS also has plans to deploy from Kasoa to Accra, and is currently in talks with the Senya Municipal Assembly.

The Municipality has located a place around Kasoa where a construction company is used to keep its equipment.

“That is going to be the layover place for the Ayalolo buses. So with that, once we are able to secure that, then Kasoa should be able to roll out,” Mr. Tsidi disclosed.

Lanes’ needed to ensure quality
Mr. Tsidi also downplayed concerns that the Aayalolo buses were behaving like glorified trotros because they were not making use of dedicated lanes.

He insisted that the full benefit of the system will be realized if the encroachment on the designated lanes for the buses is halted, and the relevant government agencies, like the Ministry of Roads and Highways, will be key in solving this problem.

“They [government] would have to create those dedicated lanes for the buses to be deployed. Now if we have the buses sitting down there and if we want to assure people of the quality that we are promising, we need the dedicated lanes from the moving point to destination.”

The QBS was initially envisioned as part of a Bus Rapid Transport system, but the absence or lack of dedicated lanes meant it did not match up to that standard.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana