Togo - West Africa - page 1002

TOUTS AT THE GARE ROUTIÈRE
At most gares routières (motor parks), bush taxis leave on a fill-up-and-go basis, but problems arise when you
get more than one vehicle covering the same route. This is when a tout (sometimes called a coti-man ) can earn
money by persuading you to take 'his' car. Most will tell you anything to get you on board: 'this one is very fast',
'this minibus is leaving now', 'this bus is a good, cheap price' etc. Another trick involves putting your bags on
the roof rack as a 'deposit' against you taking another car (which means you shouldn't give up your bags until
you're sure you'll go with them).
Don't think that you're being targeted because you're a wealthy foreigner - the touts hassle everybody. In the
end, it's always somewhat of a gamble, but the vehicle that has the most passengers will usually be the one to de-
part first.
Bush Taxi
A bush taxi (known as a tro-tro in Ghana) is effectively a small bus. Almost without exception, bush taxis leave when
full, not according to any recognisable timetable. As soon as one car leaves, the next one starts to fill. Depending on the
popularity of the route, the car may take half an hour or several days to fill. Either way, drivers jealously guard their
car's place in the queue.
There are three main types of bush taxi in West Africa; minibus, Peugeot taxi and pick-up.
MINIBUS
Some routes are served by minibuses (minicars) - usually seating about 12 to 20 passengers. They're typically about
25% cheaper than Peugeot 504s, and sometimes more comfortable, depending on how full they are. They're also slower,
take longer to fill, tend to stop more, and police checks at roadblocks take longer because there are more passengers to
search.
PEUGEOT TAXI
Peugeot 504s, assembled in Nigeria or imported from Europe, are used all over West Africa and are also called cinq-
cent-quatre, Peugeot taxi, sept place and brake . With three rows of seats, they're built to take the driver plus seven pas-
sengers. In some countries this limit is observed, in others it's flagrantly flaunted. All 504s in Mali, for example, take
the driver plus nine passengers. In Guinea you might be jammed in with at least a dozen adults, plus children, the odd
goat and bags, with more luggage and a couple of extra passengers riding on the roof. That these cars do hundreds of
thousands of kilometres on some of the worst roads in the world is a credit to the manufacturer and the ingenuity of loc-
al mechanics.
While some drivers are safe and considerate, others verge on insanity. Some cars are relatively new (there are quite a
few Peugeot 505s, the later model, around these days) and well maintained, with comfortable seats. Others are very old,
reduced to nothing more than chassis, body and engine: there's more weld than original metal, the tyres are bald, most
of the upholstery is missing and little extras like windows, door handles and even exhaust pipes fell by the roadside long
ago.
PICK-UP
With wooden seats down the sides, covered pick-ups (bâchés) are definitely 2nd class, but are sometimes the only kind
of bush taxi available. They take around 16 passengers but are invariably stuffed with people and baggage, plus a few
chickens, and your feet may be higher than your waist from resting on a sack of millet. Up on the roof go more bags,
bunches of bananas, extra passengers and goats (also live). Bâché rides are often very slow, and police checks at roadb-
locks are interminable as drivers or passengers frequently lack vital papers. The ride is guaranteed to be unpleasant un-
less you adopt an African attitude, which means each time your head hits the roof as the vehicle descends into yet anoth-