Assessment of commercial vehicle models in the urban public transport of Ghana

Abstract Public transportation is vital to the growth and development of a nation. In Ghana, the predominant public transportation modes are taxis and minivans ( trotros ). These commercial passenger vehicles are registered by Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and categorized based on their cubic capacities (cc)—commercial cars up to 2000 cc as taxis and above 2000 cc as trotros. Categorization based on their model types and quantities is unavailable per authors’ knowledge due to the inability to access such data from the transport sectors. Consequently, a quantitative survey was employed to ascertain the different vehicle models and fuel types as well as the vehicle mileages in the three largest cities in Ghana—Accra, Kumasi and Tamale. In all, a total number of 33 and 19 different taxis and trotro models were respectively attained. Diesel was the dominant fuel type amongst the trotro models whilst gasoline was prevalent in the taxis models. In terms of mileage, taxis recorded the highest number of trips,but the shortest distances per each trip relative to trotro vehicles. Survey results can be used by researchers and transport units to deduce accurate estimates of passenger vehicles’ fuel consumption and emissions in Ghana. Additionally, the results can inform decisions on traffic management and vehicle regulations in the country. The study recommends transport policies to revamp the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system and suppress the use of taxis and minibuses to attain sustainability in the sector.