Drivers face arrest for using Aayalolo bus lanes in Accra

Private motorists who use lanes reserved for Aayalolo buses in Accra risk arrest, the Greater Accra Passenger Transport Executive (GAPTE) has warned, as it prepares to strengthen enforcement.

The authority’s managing director, Daouda Awudu, said some drivers were following buses into the designated lanes to avoid traffic, despite restrictions on their use.

The lanes form part of a contra-flow system, which allows authorised buses to travel against the normal direction of traffic on selected stretches of road to shorten passengers’ journeys.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday, October 15, Mr Awudu said motorcycle escorts deployed to guide the buses had not completely prevented private vehicles from entering the lanes.

“It has come to our attention that private vehicle drivers are joining the buses to use the contra-flow,” he said.

“Those are challenges that were reasonably foreseeable when we started the exercise using motorbike escorts.”

Mr Awudu said GAPTE was working with the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service to tackle the problem. Discussions were underway to deploy additional officers along the routes.

“We are doing this in collaboration with the MTTD. The police are supposed to handle all these drivers who join the contra flow in the morning,” he said.

He warned that motorists who breached the restriction would be arrested and dealt with under the law. He did not specify potential penalties or give a date for the additional deployment.

The contra-flow arrangement began on September 29 on the Amasaman–Accra, Adenta–Accra and Kasoa–Accra corridors, following preparations earlier that month. The designated lanes are reserved for authorised Aayalolo buses during operating hours.

The initiative is intended to make public transport faster and more reliable on some of the capital’s busiest commuting routes.