Metro Mass Transit Limited trains 24 female drivers

Daily Graphic (pg11) Thurs., July 1/10

Story & Picture: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
DRIVING of commercial vehicles by women in Ghana is not a common sight as women are mostly associated with driving private cars be it salon or four-wheel-drives (4WD).
One will not be far from the truth to say that all commercial vehicles in the country are being driven by men and this has become the accepted norm although society will not frown on women driving either taxis or buses.
The Metro Mass Transit Limited (MMTL) operators of the Metro Mass Transport services across the country after eight years of its operation in the country, has been the first to recruit and train the first batch of 24 female drivers to augment its 1,400 male driving staff.
Another batch of 26 women will also be recruited soon to increase the number to 50. The first batch were recruited from the various depots with the breakdown as nine from Accra, three from the Western, one from the Ashanti, four from Brong Ahafo, one from Koforidua, two from Ho, two from Bolgatanga and another two from the Oda depot.
The female drivers have so far undergone nine months of training both in Accra and in Cote d’Ivoire where they have been taught the rudiments of how to operate the 50-seater Metro Mass buses.
The ladies all of whom were employed as conductors on the buses some years ago, with most of them not having any knowledge of driving, undertook a three-month driver training course in Accra before leaving for Cote d’Ivoire for further training at the SOTRA Institute after which they again underwent another three-month training on the road where the Metro Mass have its services.
They have been awarded a licence ‘F’ certificate by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) in Accra.
Speaking with one of the ladies who underwent the training, Ms Joyce Kwakyewaa, said although she did not have any knowledge of driving when she was recruited, she could now move the 50 seater bus from Accra to Cape Coast, Swedru, Koforidua and Ho.
She said she was yet to be put on the road where she can have passengers on board and said she had the confidence that she could drive the bus easily since she has been adequately prepared for the job.
A vocational school leaver, Ms Kwakyewaa said although the training was intensive and tough for herself and her colleagues, they were able to go through it and were confident of the future.
A Communications Officer at the MMTL, Mr Collins Ben Forson who explained the idea behind the introduction of women in the operations of the MMTL, said their aim was to ensure that the service became more gender sensitive during its recruitment.
Mr Forson who spoke on behalf of the Communications Director of the MMTL said the general idea was also to help improve on the safety needs of its passengers, since according to him, women had been identified to be more careful, tolerant and more patient when it came to driving.
The Head of Recruitment and Training, Mr Eric Otu said the women would be put on the Kimbu to Tema route in Accra for the next six months starting from July 2, 2010.
The Metro Mass Transit Limited presently has 642 buses operating across the country and 20 of the said buses operated on the Accra to Kimbu route.