do, the mate will stick his head and hand out of the window and yell out the direction they're headed in and its corresponding hand signal. For example, if someone wants to go to the area called 37th Circle, they would have to look for someone yelling “circle, circle, circle” and moving their hand in a circle. This system seems to work very well for most people, but sometimes I do not know what tro-tro I need to get on. Thankfully, people here are very friendly and will help me with directions.
Tro-tro fare is based on how far you travel, so I will pay about one cedi and 30 pesewas to get to the mall because it is not too far, but if I want to go to a market that is farther away, I will pay about four cedis. In U.S. dollars, that's about 23 cents to the mall and 72 cents to the market. These prices differ greatly from what I am used to paying in California. There, I use the metro or BART, which cost a lot more to ride.
I get nervous when I ride in these vehicles because people drive very fast on the street and there are no seatbelts in the cars. There have been times where I am in a tro-tro that was about to hit another car on the highway and barely missed it. Also, the mates working on the tro-tros try very hard to get customers into their van, so the pressure is overwhelming at times. Despite these initial feelings, I have become accustomed to riding on them. My favorite part is when the tro-tro is at a stoplight and people carrying snacks and ice cream on their head come to the windows to sell their wares to the passengers.
